Cops linked to $100K-bribery deal arrested after man murdered
Published:Sunday | July 17, 2022 | 9:07 PM
Two policemen attached to the Constant Spring Police Station in St Andrew have been arrested and a third is being sought following the murder of a tiler on Saturday morning in Red Hills in the parish.
They were detained hours after the killing that has been linked to an alleged bribery deal.
Assistant Commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) Hamish Campbell confirmed the development in what he said was a "complex" investigation.
INDECOM is the state's chief police oversight body.
The dead man has been identified as 49-year-old Phillip Wallace of a Green Glide Close address in St Andrew.
About 10:41 a.m. Saturday, Wallace was reportedly standing in the community when a white Toyota Axio motorcar drove up.
Three men alighted from the vehicle and opened fire on Wallace, reports say.
A woman who was also shot at escaped without injury.
The cops at the centre of the saga reportedly requested $100,000 from Wallace following a raid a few days earlier in return for him not to be prosecuted.
A sum was allegedly provided by the cops demanded more.
A report was made to the Constant Spring Police Station and a corruption probe opened against the cops.
The policemen are in custody at the Grants Pen Police in St Andrew, The Gleaner understands.
The third cop has not been seen or heard from since and it is believed he may have departed the island.
The Major Investigation Division and the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are also probing the matter.
A cop on duty at the Grants Pen Police Station declined to comment and directed queries to the Constant Spring Station. Calls placed there were not picked up.
The police's Corporate Communications Unit said it was aware of Wallace's killing but was seeking further information on the reported arrest of the cops.
- Andre Williams
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