Mistaken identity and murder

By Peter Espeut

On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was in his compound near Abbotabad, Pakistan, with his youngest wife and some of his children, when Navy SEALs of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group helicoptered in and shot him dead, along with his son, Khalid, and three others.

Osama was unarmed and could have been taken alive, but was not. He was assassinated by what amounted to a death squad. I suppose no trial was deemed necessary. Watching from the Situation Room in the White House, the commander-in-chief declared: "We got him."

On May 27, 2010, Keith Clarke was in his home in Kirkland Heights in upper St Andrew, with his wife and 18-year-old daughter when Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers invaded his home. The soldiers were searching for Tivoli don Christopher 'Dudus' Coke - not wanted for any crime by the Jamaican Government, but for extradition to the United States. Clarke's house was pockmarked by sustained gunfire from high-powered weapons, and Clarke was shot more than 20 times - at least 15 in his back.

Was this a case of mistaken identity? Would this assassination by what amounts to a death squad have been acceptable if the victim had been Dudus? And if it was Dudus, would the JDF commanders have accepted credit for a job well done?

On June 2, 2012, Jamaican police shot dead 25-year-old Kavorn Shue at his home on Jarrett Lane, off Mountain View Avenue. The police reported that he fired at a team of lawmen who had gone to his house. They returned deadly fire. Jarrett Lane residents said the youth was asleep, and was taken from his bed and shot in cold blood by the police.

As it turned out, Kavorn Shue was the sports coordinator for the Mountain View Police Youth Club, and was preparing to join the police force. High-ranking police officers had good things to say about Shue. Another case of mistaken identity? Would this assassination by what amounts to a death squad have been acceptable if the victim had been the person the police were actually looking for?

OPERATING DEATH SQUADS?

Does Jamaica - 50 years after Independence - operate death squads? Do the commanders of our security forces take responsibility for the actions of the men under their command? And how far up does responsibility go?

Recently, Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, was sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him. He was not convicted for pulling the trigger himself, nor even for giving the order for the trigger to be pulled. He was found guilty of failing to stop the killing - failing to give the order for the security forces to stop the killings.

For most of the 50 years of our Independence, Jamaica has been ranked as having one of the highest rates of police killings in the world. Are our politicians - our ministers of national security and our prime ministers - powerless to rein in the security forces under their command?

In 2009, Jamaican security forces killed 263 persons; in 2010, they killed 309 persons (not counting the 73 killed in the Tivoli incursion); and in 2011, they killed 370 Jamaicans. This has been going on for decades. In 1984, the figure was 354. A large number of public officials over the years have a lot to account for.

It seems that the security forces believe they have the support of the state apparatus for what they do, and this might explain why the killings continue. Investigations into police killings are slow, and result either in no charges being preferred (even when videotape evidence exists), or charges laid which cannot be upheld in court.

One reason given for no charges being laid is that where there are many police present, it is difficult to know who pulled the trigger or struck the fatal blow. I am thinking of the case of Michael Gayle, a mentally retarded youth beaten to death in 1999 inside a police station. No one was ever charged, but surely all the policemen present were guilty - either of assaulting the retarded youth, or as accessories for failing to stop the beating. None has been charged for anything at all!

As we look forward to the next 50 years, can we agree to put a stop to this?

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and Roman Catholic deacon. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.