‘They are heroes’ - PM, Opposition salute slain cops; Holness vows continued pressure on criminal networks

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has pledged full state support to intensify police operations targeting high-risk criminals and their networks, following the death of two lawmen he has hailed as “heroes” murdered in a “devious trap”.

Holness was speaking with Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake during a debriefing at Norman Manley International Airport upon his return from New York on Saturday.

“Their service was courageous. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten. They are truly, truly, truly heroes in our national struggle to eliminate organised criminal violence, illegal guns, and gangs from our society,” said Holness.

He said the lawmen were killed during their attempt to rescue a child from an apparent surrender, amid a gunfight between the security forces and criminals in Five Miles near Sligoville in St Catherine on Friday.

The slain lawmen have since been identified as Corporal Trevoy Shaw and Constable Devoney Rose.

The 10-year-old girl who was seriously injured remains in critical but stable condition at the hospital.

Coordinated trap

Three suspects were fatally shot in the hours-long stand-off.

He said intelligence accounts revealed that the gunmen orchestrated a coordinated trap – using misdirection and diversionary gunfire – before turning weapons on officers who stepped forward to safely retrieve the child reportedly being held hostage inside the house at the centre of the gun battle.

“It was a devious trap. The officers were fired upon as they approached to retrieve the child, and that’s how they lost their lives. So, they are heroes. And that is calculated brutality. That is sheer evil, and it is a stark reminder that we cannot let down our guards, relax our laws. We must maintain our resolute posture against organised criminal networks,” he said.

“They are not protectors, they are not justified by poverty ... . They are parasites and pestilence upon our society,” Holness asserted, forcefully rejecting any romanticised views of gunmen as ‘Robin Hoods’ or social rebels.

He said criminals who use families and children as human shields have stripped themselves of moral standing and mandated that the Jamaica Constabulary Force and Jamaica Defence Force intensify targeted operations to dismantle these networks using the full force of the law.

“Let me be blunt: We must separate these evil men from our society. We must stop making excuses for men who carry illegal guns, terrorise communities, and prey upon the vulnerable … . The society is better off without them. They must be identified, disarmed, arrested, prosecuted, and removed from our communities through the full force and uncompromising force of the law.

“There can be no moral equivalency. There can be no romanticising of gangs, no glorifying of gunmen, and no tolerance for those who shelter, finance, arm, and celebrate them,” said Holness.

Issuing a stark warning to criminals across the island ahead of next week’s National Security Council meeting, Holness said: “Take weh yourselves.”

Meanwhile, the Opposition on Sunday said it is deeply saddened by the deaths of the policemen and the serious injuring of the child.

“These officers left home to protect us and did not return. On behalf of the Opposition, I extend sincere condolences to their families, their colleagues and the entire Constabulary. Jamaica owes them a debt we can never fully repay,” said Fitz Jackson, opposition spokesperson on national security.

“No child should ever be caught in the line of fire. We are praying for this little girl’s full recovery and for strength for her family,” he added.

Jackson said anyone with information should contact the police or Crime Stop, noting that all Jamaicans must stand united against the gun violence that continues to rob families of loved ones.

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