A police constable who was attached to the St. Andrew South Division was killed by a gunman yesterday. More than a dozen Jamaican law enforcement personnel have been murdered since January.

Fidel Beckford was shot dead by an assailant shortly after 2:00 p.m. in Toll Gate, western Clarendon.

It is understood that Beckford was standing at a shop in the community when a blue Nissan Sunny motor car drove up. A gunman reportedly got and shot the policeman in his back eight times.

Up to press time, detectives were still processing the scene.

The Gleaner has been informed that Constable Beckford was under investi-gation for irregularities.

It is reported that the commanding officer for the Hunts Bay police recently seized his service revolver and his personal firearm licence was suspended by the Clarendon police.

Friendly fire

Meanwhile, another policeman from the Hunts Bay Police Station was hospitalised after he was shot by a colleague during an operation in Olympic Gardens, west central St. Andrew, yesterday.

The Constabulary Communication Network could not provide details on the incident, but the policeman who shot his peer has reportedly been removed from front-line duties pending the outcome of an investigation.

Yesterday, a 19-year-old boy was also killed in Castleton Drive, New Bowens, Clarendon.

The police say Dwight McLean was among a group of men on a construction site when a number of gunmen walked up and opened fire, hitting McLean. He died on the spot.