Last Updated on September 29, 2020, 7:27 AM AST by Anthony Morris
For the second time in some days, police officers were attacked while trying to get persons to follow the COVID-19 protocols.
Last week, police officers were stoned in Seaview Gardens, St Andrew by partygoers when the police went to stop to an unauthorised event in the community.
The police met resistance from patrons at a party in Parry Town, St Ann. A police service vehicles were also vandalised in that incident.
Reports had said that at about 9:30 p.m., a police team was on patrol when they observed what seemed to be a party in progress in breach of the Disaster Risk Management Act.
The officers instructed that the music should be turned off and instructed the people present there to go home.
A 31-year-old man named Rashant Lawrence, who was identified as the promoter of the event later, became boisterous and objected to ending the party.
He ran, but he was arrested after a brief chase and charged with resisting arrest and breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act.
During Lawrence’s arrest, a group of angry patrons who were leaving the party hurled boulders and other missiles into the windows of the police vehicle and also slashed the tyres of the vehicle.
A wrecker then towed the vehicle to the police station.
The St Ann police have launched an investigation into the incident, and forensic investigators are currently utilising the relevant science and technology to help determine who may have been involved.
Parry Town has become a crime hotspot in recent years, accounting for several murders in St Ann. Councillor for the Beecher Town division, Ian Bell, said the stoning was an unfortunate situation.
Bell said that such behaviour should not be condoned in any aspect of life. Worse, it was during the curfew hours.
Jamaica, up to yesterday, had 6,017 COVID cases, and 89 deaths. The latest death was a 69-year-old female from St Ann. There are 4,153 active cases, and 1,706 have recovered.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
