If Constable Ramon McLean could turn back the hands of time, he would surely want to erase the events which unfolded late last Saturday night.

He was celebrating his 27th birthday and took time out to involve his girlfriend, the child they shared, two nieces and a nephew.

But his dreams of having a lovely birthday turned into his worst nightmare moments after he arrived home with his family in Portmore, St Catherine.

Shot in the neck

An argument developed between him and his child's mother, from which, it is alleged, the two got into a tussle for the firearm the Jamaica Constabulary Force had assigned him.

A second later, the report of the weapon pierced the air. Thirty-year-old Clovetta Wynter was shot in the neck.

According to one of the police-man's relatives, the tragedy occurred in front of the couple's one-year-old daughter who, up to Monday, had begun asking for her mother.

"We are working jointly with the St Catherine South police because we want to complete the investiga-tion and submit the file to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn by the latest Monday," Assistant Commissioner Granville Gause, head of the Bureau of Special Investigations, told The Gleaner.

Five statements

When contacted Tuesday, ACP Gause said he met with the DPP, who gave him certain instructions in relation to the shooting.

"So far, we have collected about five statements and the post-mortem for the deceased is scheduled for this Friday," said Gause.

He said the policeman had been detained and was being held at a Corporate Area lock-up, pending a ruling from the DPP.

glenroy.sinclair@gleanerjm.com