http://www.jamaicansforjustice.org/

Hoping this is not redundant....Tracey has posted this on another board....think all should be aware of the feelings of Negril residents in this MURDER

Hmmm, copy & pase did not work....will try again....

For immediate release

Negril Community and Jamaica Needs Answers and Action in Killing of ‘Mickey’ Hill

Friday, November 05, 2010, Kingston, Jamaica – The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Fredrick Malcolm ‘Mickey’ Hill at the hands of the police on Thursday November 4, demand answers and immediate action.

According to numerous eyewitnesses Mr. Hill was confronted by a group of seven or eight policeman, some wearing masks or with ‘kerchiefs’ tied over their faces, who came up in a Police Bus. They demanded that he tell them what was in a ‘scandal’ bag that he had. In the process of showing them the contents of the bag (cornmeal and condensed milk) the police opened fire and Mr. Hill was shot at least three times at point blank range. He died on the spot. Other persons in the vicinity were menaced with guns by the police and ran away. Another load of Policemen came and removed Mr. Hill’s body in the back of a police jeep, while the original police party got back in the blue bus and drove away.

The killing of Mr. Hill has caused outrage in the Negril and Savanna La Mar Communities. He was well known to locals and tourists alike as a decent, hardworking Jamaican who had worked in the tourist industry for over twenty years. His death raises a number of questions which must be answered by the Police High Command, the Independent Commission of Investigation and the Minister of National Security as soon as possible.

Jamaica must know: Why was an unarmed man summarily shot? Is it not high time for us to expect our police to act in a manner that enforces Justice and the Law rather than apparently acting as judge, jury and executioner? Why are police personnel going around in masks with their badge numbers covered? What has happened to the police involved – have they given statements, have they been taken off of frontline duty, have their weapons been taken for ballistic testing and have their hands been swabbed? If not, why not? Are we as a country prepared to accept this clear breach of Police Force Orders without any further explanations? Who will be the next victim under similar circumstances?

To the end of August our police force had killed over 220 Jamaicans, and this does not include the number killed during the Tivoli ‘operation’ in May. Far too many of these killings are occurring in circumstances that strongly suggest Extra Judicial Execution by the Police. The increasing number of reports of police travelling with their faces masked and their numbers covered, in breach of the law, adds to the sense of unease at the unacceptably high number of fatal shootings.

Jamaicans For Justice is calling on the Minister of National Security, the Police Commissioner and the Independent Commissioner of Investigations to immediately investigate the circumstances of the killing of ‘Mickey’ Hill, to remove from front line policing ALL the policemen involved and to provide answers for the family and community forthwith. These answers must include accounting for the completely untenable level of Police fatal shootings and the lack of effective action to end the practice of shooting first and asking questions after.

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For further information, please contact:

Susan Goffe, Spokesperson – (876) 815-3648

Carolyn Gomes, Executive Director – (876) 382-8583

About Jamaicans For Justice:

Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-violent citizens’ rights action organization founded in 1999. We conduct human rights sessions in schools and with police recruits; lobby for the realization of social and economic rights to improve the social services provided to citizens; ensure that citizens exercise their right to access information from government entities; defend the rights of children in the care of the state; provide pro bono legal advice and legal representation in Coroners’ Courts for families of people who have died at the hands of the State; and advocate for changes at the policy and legislative levels to improve citizens’ fundamental human rights.One Love,
Tracy

I hope it is allowed to copy & paste from the other board....think this is very important info. & wanted to copy before it dissappeared!