By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
SIMMERING tension in the Rockfort area of East Kingston spilled over into the streets yesterday.
Scores of residents, mainly women, formed a human chain across Windward Road, in the vicinity of Lucas Road, which forced a number of motorists to seek alternative routes.
They were protesting against the police's detention of controversial "community leader" Tony Brown along with 20 others during a mid-morning raid.
"We want justice. Free Tego Brown," the crowd chanted as they complained the police were being partial in their investigations into a gang war.
According to the police, since last Friday, at least two people have been killed and six others hospitalised with gunshot wounds.
As yesterday's protest escalated, Member of Parliament for East Kingston Phillip Paulwell and Councillor for the Norman Gardens Division, Angela Brown-Burke, visited the area appealing for calm and attempting to bring the warring factions together.
A team of heavily armed police and soldiers led by Inspector Terrence Bent was also on the scene attempting to keep things under control.
But the crowd did not readily comply with requests to move. It insisted Brown was not involved in any wrongdoing.
Residents told The Gleaner that gunmen from a section of a community known as "Gully" crossed over into Oliver Road or "Jessie City" last Friday where they allegedly robbed a shop. Seven people were subsequently shot in separate incidents.
On Monday afternoon, one man was shot and killed in an apparent reprisal but later in the night rival factions got involved in a gunfight which lasted for about half an hour. When the smoke had cleared, it was discovered another man had been shot.
Brown is no stranger to controversy, having been on the police's "Most Wanted" list for most of the 1980s. He was reported to have fled to Cuba but eventually gave himself up to the police. The charges against him were dropped last year for lack of evidence.
Mr. Paulwell said he was attempting to mediate the dispute given his success in the past in getting feuding gangs from the community to sit down and talk.
"I am in the process of getting both sides of the dispute to begin talking with each other. We already had a meeting on Monday," he said.
Responding to reports the trouble was due in part to the fact that work at the bus bay in Rockfort had been completed and the men were once again idle, the MP said he wanted to keep the youths actively involved in employment and there were plans to open the office of the bus bay soon.
