WESTERN BUREAU:
THE POLICEMAN involved in Tuesday's shooting in Hanover which sparked a major demonstration by residents in the Orange Bay area, has been removed from frontline duty, pending the outcome of investigations by the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI).
"A team from the BSI is now investigating the incident and, as in the case of incidents of this nature, he (the policeman) will be suspended until the investigations are completed," Superintendent Charles Harvey, of the Hanover Police Division, said yesterday.
On Tuesday, Christopher Davis, 27, a 'bike taximan', was shot and injured in the vicinity of Wharf Road, in Orange Bay, Hanover.
Davis, who was shot in the upper back, was rushed to the Savanna-la-Mar General Hospital, where he was admitted in a serious but stable condition. He was subsequently transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital.
However, while the police are contending that the shot that caused the injury was discharged accidentally, angry residents of the area claimed the shooting was deliberate.
Scores of angry protesters on Tuesday used tree trunks, wooden planks and large iron pipes to block a section of the Norman Manley Highway, the main thoroughfare leading in and out of the resort town of Negril. During the demonstration, which lasted for several hours, the protesters hurled bottles and stones at the lawmen, who retaliated by discharging several teargas canisters.
