Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer 
Members of the security forces mediate in a dispute between a woman (second right) and another (hidden) in the Wilton Gardens 'Rema' Community on last month.- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THIS IS the third of a five-part series on the findings of a commission of enquiry conducted by the late Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court Mr. Justice Ronald Small into the forced eviction of residents from Wilton Gardens (Rema) on February 2, 1977.
One of the areas that came under heavy scrutiny during the Rema Inquiry was the reckless use of force by the security forces.
The force consisted of a combined unit of soldiers and police for the last eight months following the imposition of a State of Emergency in June 1976, triggered by violence in Trench Town and later the Orange Street Fire.
Southwest Kingston and St. Andrew, of which Rema and Jungle were a part, was an important part of that hotbed.
It was some time around mid-afternoon on the day in question that the security forces shot and killed a gunman and recovered his .38 revolver. A search of those coming to occupy the vacant rooms then proceeded. They were ordered to lie down on the road and they were searched. Some disobeyed the military's orders and were 'roughed up'.
The testimonies of Superinten-dent Sibblies and Superintendent Thompson and another policeman, Superintendent Atkinson, gave a kaleidoscopic view of the search.
BRUTISH MILITARY METHODS
During his testimony, Supt. Thompson suggested that the methods of the military were brutish.
When asked by the Housing Ministry's attorney Robert Pickersgill whether the soldiers' methods were brutish, Supt. Thompson responded: "I would prefer to say we would not do it that way."
Mr. Pickersgill rephrased the question:
"Would you prefer to say civilised people would not behave that way?" he asked. "As a civilised force we do not operate that way," Supt. Thompson answered.
He said men, women and children were forced to lie down on the ground.
"They were roughly handled by the soldiers with gun butts," Supt. Thompson said. "They used gun butts to gun butt them. Hit them, yes. Nothing was found on them."
Supt. Atkinson amplified Supt .Thompson's statement that the soldiers were brutal.
"Yes sir, the soldiers were rough. That is how the soldiers behave; they handled the situations as soldiers. The difference between soldiers and police is that soldiers apply physical force; the soldiers say lie down and push you. It was believed that most of them (the crowd) were armed," he testified.
Supt. Sibblies said there were reported injuries after the military's exercise. Some
suffered from black eyes, swollen mouths, nose and heads and other forms of injuries. The search
lasted for some 25 minutes.
"It is a State of Emergency and things get out of hand, certainly they can't expect to be handled with kid gloves," he said. "Everybody just didn't submit to the search and there were people who fell down and the security forces were among them. The security forces did gunbutt the people. I don't think they aimed at any particular spot," he added.
WEAPONS AND
AMMUNITION FOUND
But weapons and ammunition were found on other people in the crowd, the policemen testified. One man, Dennis Saddler, was arrested after a .38 revolver home made gun was found on his person and a live round. They also found 14 nine-millimetre cartridges, Supt. Thompson said. Supt. Atkinson said the search made the atmosphere tenser and more people from below Rema came on the scene and a clash ensued. The police used tear gas to clear the streets. The search was called off at about 5:00 p.m. when it was clear to the Police Commissioner the exercise had grown violent.
The other area that came under investigation was the security force's shooting of the gunman. This was the shooting that eventually led to the search of the people. The man was shot and killed when he opened fire on the police, but Supt. Sibblies said security ammunition was wasted in the event though he declined to call the army's use of force careless.
"Let me ask something. Would you say the amount of shots fired in your estimation and experience, those amount of shots justified the shooting of one man that was killed with a gun?" Mr. Pickersgill asked.
To that Supt. Sibblies replied: "That I would say no. If the person was known to be shot in the early stage of the shooting then the other shots were wasted."
But Major Reynolds of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) later testified that the gunman had not actually fired at the security forces. He said the man had only pulled his gun as the security forces chased him:
"I am asking if they fired at him, the security forces who were chasing him?" Mr. L.H. Mclean, another attorney representing the Housing Ministry asked of Major Reynolds. He replied: "They were."
"He was running away sir," he added, "and he was ordered to stop, which he did not. He continued to run and when ordered to stop, he did not. He continued to run and when ordered to stop again, he pulled a weapon and turned in the direction of his pursuers and this was when the security forces opened fire at him."
Lieutenant James, another army officer, corroborated Major Reynolds' testimony. He gave evidence that the man was chased and shot at, and then shot by multiple security force members when he attempted to pull his gun. He said two shots were fired as they chased him up Minstrel Street.
"The section commander who was there, gave the order for the section to fire. Now I said two shots were fired initially by people pursuing this man; the shots continuing, the man continue to run in an erratic manner. The section commander there gave the order to fire," he said.
It was then he said the crowd became boisterous and only one soldier tried to control the crowd. He moved through the crowd, kicking people. Realising that the crowd was too strong for a single soldier, Lt. James threw two canisters of tear gas into the crowd. They dispersed and those running were subsequently ordered to lie on the road and they were searched for weapons. Those who resisted were gun-butted, shoved or hit. He said this was a normal army technique during any emergency.
