Unfriendly fire
August 31, 2010
A TEAM from the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) arrived in St Ann yesterday to begin probing the death of Constable Sheldon Williams, who was allegedly shot by police Sunday night after he was taken into custody for discharging his firearm while on a party boat.
The probe is also one of four the Independent Commission of Investigations took charge of yesterday.
Information surrounding the incident has been unclear in the absence of a statement from the police information arm, the Constabulary Communication Network.
However, The Gleaner understands that the 24-year-old Williams, who was stationed at the police armoury at Elletson Road, was with a group of policemen, both from Kingston and St Ann, on board the party boat off the coast of Ocho Rios Sunday night.
It is alleged that during the party Williams discharged his firearm in the air. A policeman stationed at Ocho Rios told reporters Sunday night that he warned Williams for prosecution for the act. Later, Williams again discharged his firearm in the air, resulting in the police on land being alerted.
The police later picked up Williams at the pier and escorted him to the Ocho Rios Police Station, where his gun was seized and he was being processed.
Williams' father, Pastor Devon Williams, after speaking to the police Sunday night, said he learnt that the constable retrieved the empty firearm from a desk and ran out of the building and was chased by other policemen on to Evelyn Street.
Shots were fired and Constable Williams and another policeman were hit. Williams died while the other policeman was treated at hospital.
On Monday, sources indicated that Constable Williams might have been shot by another policeman who was driving by, saw the chase and opened fire at the fleeing figure.
Pastor Williams said his son was shot three times in the upper body and neck.
The shooting, which took place around 10:30 p.m., drew a large crowd that lingered until early yesterday morning....
Author: Carl Gilchrist
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
