JAMAICA-Police officer killed during confrontation with criminal gang members.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake said Friday that the death of a police officer during an operation on Friday underscores the “brutal conditions” under which members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) function, but assured that the police will not be intimidated.

Blake said that the JCF “condemns in the strongest possible terms the deadly attack on our officers during an operation in Sligoville, St. Catherine today.

“Our members, while pursuing a high-risk target linked to violent crime, came under heavy and sustained gunfire. One colleague has been killed, and another is in critical condition under medical care.

“We mourn with the family of our fallen colleague and stand firmly with the family of our injured member,” Blake said, adding that “this tragedy lays bare the brutal conditions our officers confront daily, pursuing the most violent elements in our society so that Jamaicans can live without fear.”

Blake said that the JCF expects every officer we deploy to return home safely, adding, “Today, that expectation was shattered.

“Let there be no misunderstanding. The Jamaica Constabulary Force will not be intimidated. We will not retreat, and we will not relent,” he said, promising that “those responsible and the criminal networks that enable them will be pursued, dismantled and brought to justice. “There can be no community ceded to gunmen, no haven for gangs, no territory beyond the reach of the law. Our resolve is undiminished, our duty unchanged. We grieve, but we will act,” Blake added.

The deceased officer has been identified as Corporal Trevoy Shaw, who was attached to the JCF’s Special Operations unit. Another policeman, who sustained gunshot wounds to the head, has undergone surgery, while several other police personnel and a young girl were also injured during the confrontation.

The girl is reportedly in a serious but stable condition.

Blake and the National Security and Peace Minister, Dr. Horace Chang, visited the Sligoville, St Catherine area where the clash took place, and media reports said that

Media reports said that at about 5:15 am (local time), the officers were reportedly clearing a building on the premises when they came under heavy gunfire from two men who had barricaded themselves inside a house with other occupants.

Both gunmen were subsequently killed during the confrontation.