Shutting down Old Harbour town ‘in the best interest of the public’, says police commander

Speaking to Old Harbour News this evening, DSP Manderson, the commander in charge of the Old Harbour Police Sub-Division, revealed that the police’s intelligence machinery suggested that a reprisal attack was imminent in relation to Tuesday’s shooting incident at the Old Harbour Market.

“The decision was based upon a number of factors, which include existing intelligence of the number of gangs and turf issues within our space and the certainty of the source of the shooting at that time in close proximity of the security forces.

“It left me as the commander to appreciate the brazen nature of the individual or individuals to perpetrate that act and as such it was in the public’s interest at the time that the town centre be vacated so that some policing operations could be put in place in a safe manner,” DSP Manderson explained.

About 5:00 pm yesterday a man was shot and injured by a lone gunman at the front of the market. The shooter escaped on foot, while the identity of the injured man is being withheld so as not to compromise the investigation. However, by 9:00 pm businesses were ordered by the police to close.

Reacting to the decision, proprietor of Di-Hub Restaurant Zephaniah Aarons believes the situation could have been handled differently without impacting businesses negatively.

“They could have dealt with it better because the place is already under a state of emergency, so enough ground troops should have been there to control the town and give us enough time to do what we have to do and keep our businesses going,” said Aarons, adding that he had to cancel a few customer orders.

With the parish under a public state of emergency, business operators are prohibited from operating beyond 11:00 pm. Aware of this fact, Aarons said last night’s decision by the police had serious implications for his business and others who operate late into the night.

President of the Old Harbour Chamber of Commerece Adrian Samuda said: “Controlling crime in Old Harbour is imperative and it's the police's mandate to protect and serve. I am not aware of the police's crime fighting and reaction strategies but it cannot be one that continue to disturb both consumer purchases and business operations within Old Harbour. If consumers realise that this is the norm within Old Harbour they will make buying decisions to shop elsewhere.

“Many business operators expressed their disappointment and frustration with last night's decision and approach by the police. The lock down of the town contributed to major revenue loss for the local economy.

“Mr Manderson cannot be one-track-minded in his decision to mitigate or control crime. I suggest he makes wholesome decisions that benefits businesses and not being anti-business. He should not get comfortable with making any decisions to lock down the town in the future. It is unacceptable.

“What Old Harbour need is increased police, human resource and motor vehicle. The population of Old Harbour has grown to far exceed police resources we have in Old Harbour.”

“I have not spoken to anyone who did not appreciate and understood exactly what was unfolding in the sense of what we were doing and why we were doing it,” added DSP Manderson.

Regarding the shooting incident DSP Manderson said “investigation is ongoing and we are pursuing several leads” while noting “there will be increased police presence” in the town going forward and throughout the yuletide season.

Meantime, with several shooting incidents – majority being homicides – committed in the town centre in recent years, the top cop said “Old Harbour is high priority” for JamaicaEye – a national CCTV surveillance programme geared at improving public safety.

There’s no doubt about where we are in the pecking order. It is a high priority,” Manderson said. “The growth and expansion of Old Harbour is considered central to the development of the country itself and so to that level of priority.”