Tashieka Mair, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

A constable of the St. James Police Division who was murdered by gunmen in Montego Bay yesterday is the latest victim in a wave of attacks on Jamaica's law enforcers that has claimed more than a dozen lives this year.

The St. James police recovered the burnt frame of a Honda CR-V that was stolen from the constable late yesterday.

The 34-year-old cop, Cornel Lewis, who was attached to the Tactical Response Unit of the St. James Police Division, was attacked by three gunmen in the upscale Mango Walk community. No one has been arrested.

Constable Lewis' death brings to 15, the number of police murdered since January.

The Constabulary Communication Network reported that Constable Lewis was at an apartment complex in Mango Walk with a female when he was attacked by three men who shot him several times before escaping with his licensed firearm and his Honda CR-V. The woman escaped unharmed in nearby bushes.

Cops following leads

Head of the division, Senior Superin-tendent Steve McGregor, told The Gleaner yesterday that Lewis' colleagues were in a sombre mood. He described the slain policeman as a "street-smart police".

SSP McGregor said the police "have been following some leads and we are questioning some people who help us with information of what took place".

National Security Minister, Derrick Smith, has described the policeman's death as a "tragedy" and urged the lawmen to work relentlessly to catch the cop killers.