Cops blamed for shooting elderly resident

Investigators attached to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) have launched an investigation into the controversial shooting incident last Friday night, which led to the death of an elderly woman and the injuring of a police officer in Hinds Crescent, Trelawny.

The deceased has been identified as 67-year-old, Lissett Newman, a farmer who resided at Hinds Crescent in the parish.

Reports by the Wakefield police are that about 10 p.m., a team of officers were on patrol in the community when they accosted a man, who was searched and found with photos of himself posing with an illegal firearm in his cell phone. The man was transported to a premises at Hinds Crescent, where he reportedly told the cops that he lives there.

However, while trying to enter the house, Newman reportedly blocked the path of the lawmen and told them that the man in their custody did not live there. The woman rebuked the police team, and her actions resulted in other community members gathering on the scene.

The police stated that they came under heavy attack by angry community members who armed themselves with sticks, bottles, and stones. One of the cops was injured after he was hit in his head with a bottle. The lawmen claimed that they were fired at by men who hid in bushes, forcing them to beat a hasty retreat.

Community members later rushed the elderly woman to hospital after she was found suffering from gunshot wounds. They blamed the cops for firing the bullet which hit and killed the woman.

The death of the elderly woman riled the community members who took to the streets in protest. They blocked several sections of the roadway, using large stones, old motor vehicle, old furniture and trees.