Chairperson for the Police Federation has issued a call for more citizens across the island to come out and join the police in the fight against criminals who continue to wreak havoc in communities all over.
Sergeant Arleen McBean made the call at Saturday’s funeral service for police constable Ricardo Fairclough, who was shot and killed as he tried to assist a woman who was attacked by gunmen on Bravo Street in St Ann’s Bay, St Ann in April.
In calling for citizens of the country to play their part in the fight against crime, Police Federation Chairman, Sergeant Arleen McBean, is insisting that it cannot be “business” as usual when a gunman attacks an agent of the state.
She has said Jamaicans have “a civic responsibility to bring back the new Jamaica”.
“When gunman kill any agent of the state, it can’t be business as usual,” declared McBean has she spoke about the contribution that the policeman made to his country before his life was cut short.
The police have since charged 29-year-old Oshane Davis, who reportedly gave his name as ‘Shawn Brown’, of Bamboo Spring, Ulster Spring, Trelawny, with Fairclough’s murder.
“We must unite as police and citizens. No criminal element must feel that you kill a police and it’s a holiday for you!”
With Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake also present at the funeral service held at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church in St Ann, McBean said the federation stands ready to walk in the trenches and the gutters.
This, she said, is aimed at finding the illegal guns and apprehending the criminal elements.
McBean described Fairclough as “a very hardworking human being, kind-hearted, highly motivated, inspirational man of God, who always reached into the trenches, the highways and the byways to minister to people.”
She continued: “… And now I look, our brother is gone in the midst of saving the life of another.”
Reports from he Major Investigations Division (MID) are that about 8:25 pm on Monday, April 15, two men entered a bar and opened gunfire at a woman. While making their escape, the men encountered Fairclough, and opened gunfire at him.
When the shooting subsided, the lawman and the woman were seen with gunshot wounds, with Fairclough being injured in the chest. He died at hospital, while the woman was treated.
McBean called on those in authority to honour Fairclough posthumously with a Medal of Gallantry at the National Honours and Awards for “sacrificing” his life to save a citizen.
“We must see his wife and daughters walking along King’s House, getting a posthumous award – Medal of Gallantry,” she said, amid loud applauses from those at the funeral service.
While acknowledging the strides being made in transforming the JCF, McBean said a united front had to be taken in taking back Jamaica from the hands of the criminals.
“No more shall this blame game syndrome continue. I call on influencers in society… (to) use your platform well. Speak to the gunman who tune in, speak to the man who have him Ak-47 sitting on his lap and tell him, ‘Find a pastor, find a JP (justice of the peace), get someone you trust, (and) hand over the gun dem,” she advised.
Meanwhile, McBean encouraged all rank-and-file members of the police force to use their training in defending themselves against criminals as they seek to apprehend them.
