An elated Inspector Linroy Edwards holds his winning trophy after being named Lasco Police Officer of the Year recently. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Writer

He is often referred to as 'Crazy' as he fears no criminal, taking his job very seriously. However, there is a soft side to the tough cop, Inspector Linroy Edwards.

He will cry when he is honoured. Just as he did in front of a full ballroom at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St. Andrew, a week ago, when he was named Lasco Police Officer of the Year 2006-2007.

Inspector Edwards readily admits that he sometimes shed a tear and gets goose pimples whenever he hears the country's national anthem. "Anytime I'm going to a football match, I try toreach there before the national anthem is played," added the patriotic Jamaican.

Shot once and injured by gunmen in the line of duty during a cross-fire in the tough inner-city community of Southside, central Kingston, Inspector Edwards said that it was the loyalty and patriotism that kept him in the police force over the years.

The 38-year-old Inspector said he have had numerous encounters with some of the country's most dangerous criminals.

Tough assignments

"I am always selected for specialised units, taking on tough assignments in inner-city communities, searching for dangerous criminals. Sometimes, we are engaged in gun battles which result in the loss of lives. Police are killed sometimes and in defending ourselves, criminals are shot during the exchange," Inspector Edwards explains.

The father of four dedicates his accolades to his grandmother, who is a popularly known as 'Mother Vic'. A disciplinarian, she raised him as a child in the Old Harbour area of St. Catherine, where he was part of a scout troop and attended church regularly.

When his grandmother died in the 1980s, he went to live with his mother on Sherlock Crescent in Duhaney Park in the Kingston 20 area.

The family later removed to Rockfort in east Kingston. Despite being exposed to the evils of violence during his teenage years, Inspector Edwards stayed on the right path.

Read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys

In his childhood years, he read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books and developed an inquisitive mind. This trait he said contributed to him wanting to become a police officer. "I used to love seeing police officers, especially when they were dressed in tactical gear," he revealed.

Inspector Edwards was among six members of the defunct Crime Management Unit, formerly led by Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, who were tried for murder in connection with the deaths of seven young men in a house in Braeton, St. Catherine, in March 2001. They were found not guilty in the Home Circuit Court in February 2005.

Now, with him winning the award, he hopes that this will not rehash the incident.

"It was my job, I defended my life and I have had my day in court and I continued to work assiduously. I want to be the best policeman I can be and serve my country," he said.