Penalties for cops - Police face disciplinary action for lock-up escape, missing firearm and diplomatic incident

Two policemen have been “severely reprimanded” after an internal disciplinary process concluded that their “negligence” allowed accused killer Raymond ‘Boxer’ Shaw to escape from the Kingston Central police lock-up nearly four years ago, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has confirmed.
Four other law enforcement personnel, three corporals and a constable, were docked between 10 days pay and a quarter of their salaries for periods ranging from one to four months for various breaches, one of them resulting from an “unprofessional” exchange with the German ambassador to Jamaica.
The punishments were announced over the last two weeks in the Force Orders – the internal communication organ for the JCF – following separate undated court of enquiry hearings.
Established under Section 47 of the Police Services Regulations, a court of enquiry is a quasi-judicial process used to adjudicate allegations of misconduct against cops and makes a recommendation to the commissioner of police.
The sanctions range from a warning to dismissal.
Shaw was facing two counts of murder for the shooting deaths of Wilfred ‘Straight’ O’Connor, 59, and Clinton ‘Onie’ Davis, 60, when he mysteriously escaped from the Kingston Central police lock-up on October 6, 2022. He was captured in The Cayman Islands on July 8 and deported to Jamaica.
According to sources, he was released from his cell to take a shower and, less than an hour later, he could not be found. Investigators later discovered that an air vent leading to his cell was cut open and it is believed that he escaped through that opening, sources claim.
Shaw was shot and killed by the security forces at a guest house in St Andrew two days after his escape.
A court of enquiry found that two policemen, a corporal and a constable assigned to the Kingston Central Police Division, conducted themselves “contrary to the discipline, good order and guidance of the force”, a notification published in the Force Orders dated July 9 revealed.
“… in that you, through negligence, allowed the escape of male Jamaican prisoner from custody on Thursday, October 6, 2022 about 5:30 a.m. at the Kingston ‘C’ (Central) Police Station Lock-Ups,” it said.
The reprimand is attached to the cops’ personnel records and can impact promotions or re-enlistment in the force, insiders told The Gleaner.
A senior law enforcement officer, citing the problem of overcrowding at police lock-ups in Jamaica, expressed surprise at the outcome of the cases against the two police personnel.
“The lock-ups are always overcrowded and they never have the right complement of persons detailed to work at these lock-ups … so when you see them convicting people for these matters, I don’t know what they doing,” said the senior policeman, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the cases.
Another court of enquiry found that a corporal assigned to the Ports Division was “unprofessional” in his conduct “when you told the German ambassador to Jamaica that you don’t care who he is or what he is after he identified himself to you”, stated the Force Orders dated July 16.
The exchange reportedly occurred at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston about 9:45 p.m. on October 2, 2023 during an interaction between the policeman and the driver for the German diplomat.
The panel also concluded that he breached force policy when he “failed” to give the German ambassador his name when requested. The constable was docked a quarter of his salary for one month.
A woman corporal lost a quarter of her salary for four months after a court of enquiry found that she “failed to account” for a gun and 20 rounds of ammunition – both owned by a civilian – which were handed over to her when she took over station duty at the Elletson Road Police Station in July 2019.
The panel also found that she failed to report the missing weapon and bullets, according to the July 16 Force Orders.
A fourth cop, a corporal assigned to the Detention and Court Division, was docked a quarter of his salary for two months after a court of enquiry found that he failed to report to a supervisor that he found contraband in a bathroom at the Horizon Remand Centre, a high-security prison, in May 2021.
He was also found to have acted in an unprofessional manner for going through a checkpoint at the prison “in an attempt to evade being searched”.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com