Police say man who drown in Rio Cobre jumped from service vehicle, incident being probed
Published:Wednesday | November 12, 2025 | 7:33 PM
The police’s Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations have launched separate probes into the death of a man being transported by the police in St Catherine today.
A statement issued by the police’s Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) stated that 73-year-old Melton Smith reportedly jumped from the service vehicle as it travelled across Flat Bridge in the Bog Walk Gorge and fell into the Rio Cobre.
The incident was captured on a traffic cam video, which has since gone viral.
In the video, Melton was seen with a tyre as he entered the water.
In its report, CCN stated that Smith, a farmer of Linstead, St Catherine, was a suspect in an alleged case of abduction and carnal abuse and was being transported from Linstead to Spanish Town.
It further said that he was assisted from the river by police personnel and the fire brigade and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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