Crowds in Jamaica Burn Cars, Block Roads After Police Shoot and Kill Two Men in Montego Bay

Associated Press ^ | Oct 25, 2003 | Vivian Tyson

[Pharmboy]

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (AP) - Thousands of Jamaicans rioted near Montego Bay's airport Saturday, burning buses and blocking roads to protest the killings of two elderly men by police in an alleged shootout. Police fired guns in the air and used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who numbered about 4,000, but the crowds regrouped, tossing bottles at officers and preventing them from clearing moving burned vehicles from the roadways.

No injuries or arrests were reported, but police continued firing warning shots after nightfall.

Flights were not affected and most resorts were far from where thousands of people massed to protest the shootings of taxi driver David Bacchas, 63, and newspaper vendor Cecil Brown, 66, on Saturday morning.

Protesters said police fatally shot two men in cold blood.

Police initially said the men fired on them and two weapons were recovered from the taxi, but later changed that account, saying the men were caught in the crossfire during a raid in the area.

Later, police said officers were carrying out raids in the community when they came across six men, at least one of whom was armed. The armed man tried to stop the taxi and a shootout ensued. The two men in the taxi were innocent victims and the two recovered weapons did not belong to them, police spokesman Ionie Ramsay-Nelson said.

"By all indications these were two decent, hardworking citizens," Ramsay-Nelson said, adding that police were offering to assist with funeral arrangements.

Jamaica's police force has been considering a stricter policy on the use of force to reduce the number of fatal shootings by its officers. Amnesty International said the Caribbean island nation has one of the of the world's highest per capita rates of police killings, totaling 133 last year.

Protesters set a fire at the road leading to the nearby Sandals Montego Bay resort, preventing people from entering or leaving, independent RJR radio reported.

A senior manager, who refused to give his name or confirm the report, said all guests at the 244-room resort were safe and probably unaware of what was happening.

"(Soldiers) are right down the road so we're probably the most secure hotel on the island right now," he told The Associated Press.

While much of the island of 2.6 million is largely crime-free, gun violence is frequent in parts of Kingston, the capital. Last year, 1,045 murders were reported in Jamaica.

[Pharmboy]

Well, Puerto Rico is nice this time of year...

[Travis McGee]

Mo-Bay ping. Jamaica...such potential. Such a beautiful island.

[csvset]

With all that robbing and a stabbing and a shooting and a looting now you're too bad...

[Stopislamnow]

Come back to Jamaica.....whats old is whats new...

Seriesly, going to Montego for honeymoon in April.

This keeps up I needa start looking fer a another place to go.

[dagnabbit]

Come to Jamaica

[Pharmboy]

The fact that the cops' story changed does not look good...(and my dad was a NYC detective and my son is now in the NYC Police Academy, so I'm automatically on the cops side until the facts prove things otherwise).

[Squantos]

gun violence is frequent in parts of Kingston

Obligatory presstitutional "gun" comment in a story where the cops did the killin ???

How nice......Stay Safe !

[Pharmboy]

Went to the Dorado Beach Hyatt (in PR) for our honeymoon. Check it out...we had a GREAT time.

[Aggie Mama]

My father does business in Kingston and really hates traveling down there. He says this kind of stuff happens all the time.

[xeno]

I highly recommend Bermuda

[Pharmboy]

Pricey...but nice pink sand.

[umgud]

My daughter is going on a cruise that stops there at the end of Nov. I'm going to order her to stay on the boat.

[Pharmboy]

This is what they have that PR does not (the heritage, that is).

[Pharmboy]

My main reason for posting this was to alert Freepers and their families/friends about danger inherent in going there vs. other carib islands.

[yankeedame]

Flights were not affected and most resorts were far from where thousands of people massed to protest the shootings of taxi driver David Bacchas, 63, and newspaper vendor Cecil Brown, 66, on Saturday morning.

All 4k+ of them,huh? Yeah. Right. And I'll take vanilla. A box of doughnuts says that 90%+ aren't there to protest the shootings. They're there to settle old scores, do some undocumented shopping, to raise h--- (a little or a lot), and/or otherwise take advantage of the chaos.

[Aggie Mama]

Here's a lovely story to curl your hair. My parents went to Kingston for a wedding of an important client. On the way to the wedding, the had to drive through the "city". As the driver (they used an armed guard to go around there)stopped at a light, a naked, rastafarian-type climbed up from the sewers, walked right in front of the car, and banged on it for money.

It was definitely not a vacationer's paradise. I would recommend the Bahamas for that.

[yankeedame]

My daughter is going on a cruise that stops there at the end of Nov. I'm going to order her to stay on the boat.

And tell her - if she does go ashore - not to consume anything she doesn't have to open first, e.g. an orange but not an banana, a can of pepsi but not a glass of juice, a bag of chips but not a grilled hamburger.

Oh, and speaking of hamburger, tell her to order ALL of her meat well-done; even if she doesn't like it that way; yes,even on the ship...b/c you can never tell.

[coloradan]

This article mentions "gun violence" in Jamaica, but conveniently forgets to mention that guns are essentially banned in Jamaica.

Bumping donut watch for the citation that Jamaica has one of the highest per capita number of police killings. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who is killed ... in this case, two innocent taxi drivers, it's bad. It's also bad that the police have changed their story.

[yankeedame]

Opps! Slipped off my soap box there for a minute. I meant to say "...an orange not an apple.."

[Travis McGee]

I would not go to Jamaica for a honeymoon, when there are many better choices nearby for the same money. Outside of the gated resorts, Jamaica is incredibly hostile and potentially violent to tourists.