Howard Campbell, Gleaner WriterActing Deputy Commissioner of Police, Linval Bailey, says he is considering legal action against Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Bruce Golding and its Spokesman on National Security Derrick Smith, for 'damaging' remarks both made about him in the aftermath of last Tuesday's police-military raid in the west Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens.
"I have asked the CCN (Constabulary Communi-cation Network) to try and get clips of the comments that were made. Some of the statements I have heard about are damaging in my view and I must seek advice from legal persons on it," Mr. Bailey told The Sunday Gleaner, Thursday.
Mr. Golding, who is also Member of Parliament for west Kingston, and Mr. Smith were very critical of the early morning operation in which Mr. Bailey was one of the commanding officers. At an impromptu press conference at Gordon House Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Smith said it was ironic that whenever raids were conducted in west Kingston, Mr. Bailey was involved.
Last Tuesday's curfew was imposed over a section of Tivoli Gardens, a section of west Kingston the police believes accomodates criminals.
After the curfew was lifted Tuesday afternoon, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields, said the squadron entered the area searching for suspects wanted for the murders of three policemen in May. None of the men were held, but 300 pounds of ganja and 30 cellular phones were seized. Mr. Shields said the phones were found at a house where one of the suspects was believed to be when the security forces approached west Kingston.
led several raids
Mr. Bailey, who joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 1973, formerly headed the Kingston Western Police Division which covers west Kingston, traditionally a JLP stronghold. He says in that time, he led several raids into that constituency including the controversial May 1997 operation that resulted in the deaths of four persons and injury to several others.
At the time, the police claimed they came under fire from gunmen in west Kingston, forcing them to retaliate. A Coroner's Inquest cleared the security forces of any criminal action in that two-day standoff.
