Police federation wants heroes park monument for slain cops

Paul Clarke, Gleaner Writer

Chairman of the Police Federation Sergeant Patrae Rowe is calling for a monument in National Heroes Park to honour cops killed in the line of duty as well as those who have given exemplary service.

“We are asking the Government to erect a monument in no less a place than the National Heroes Park in honour of these two police officers that were killed,” Rowe said in reference to Detective Corporal Dane Biggs and Constable Decardo Hylton.

READ: Two policemen shot dead, two others injured in Spanish Town attack

They were among four cops who were shot during an operation in Horizon Park in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on the morning of June 12.

The two other injured cops remain in hospital.

Rowe was speaking at a special service where members of the police force laid roses at a monument on the compound of the St Catherine North Divisional Headquarters in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

The monument is dedicated to cops killed while on the job.

“The memories of these two young but very promising officers must be immortalised somewhere. Jamaica must know that these two men,in 2020, gave their lives for this country. There must be a place where their families and their children must be able to picnic and lay a wreath at a monument in honour of them,” Rowe said.

He stressed that cops killed while on the job must be properly and significantly recognised and must be afforded a special place to be laid to rest.

Rowe said that the federation would take the necessary steps to keep the proposal on the front burner, arguing that a lack of action by the Government to make the proposal a reality may demotivate the police force.

“We have a highly motivated force right now that is stretched thin to ensure that crime is kept in check, to make sure that [there is] a visible presence, a barrier, between the good people of the nation and those bent on creating mischief, and to make sure offenders are arrested and sent before the court of law.

“Policemen and women across the 14 parishes work very long hours, in many cases deprived of sleep, to ensure that the average Jamaican is safe. We are saying that this will go a far way to motivate a police force that is already weary, and the Government needs to take these steps to make sure we have a motivated police force to fight crime in this country,” Rowe said.

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