Wanted man Tuwaine Morrison was killed recently during a tussle with police after he resisted arrest and reportedly tried to reach for an officer's gun.
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Corporal Rohan James, Chairman of the Police Federation and Jamaicans for Justice Director John Clarke
Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation Corporal Rohan James is calling for a life sentence to be imposed on persons found guilty of confronting members of the force while they are making arrests.
Corporal James says there has been an increase in the number of cases of persons resisting arrest on the urging of bystanders calling for violence against the arresting officers.
He believes that a life sentence will deter persons from assaulting police officers in the execution of their duties and "send a stronger signal" that law enforcement is to be taken seriously.
According to Corporal James, the police act as a buffer between law abiding citizens and those who decide to break the law and create mayhem in the country.
These law breakers, he said, cannot continue to be treated with "kid's gloves" while the level of crime and violence gets from "bad to worse".
"We have to treat with it head on. And that is why it requires our Prime Minister to get real tough and to even emulate aspects of the Singapore Prime Minister's utterances. You have to lead with an iron fist," Corporal James asserted.
He was speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.
Too extreme
But Director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) John Clarke has said a life sentence for such an offence would be too extreme.
Mr. Clarke, who is also a defence attorney, said police officers need to be equipped with skills to de-escalate conflicts and should make greater use of body-worn cameras.
He harkened back to former Deputy Commissioner of Police Novelette Grant, who he said "believed that there may be a need for more training of officers in relation to how to de-escalate scenarios [and] how to interact with the public".
According to Mr. Clarke, in many instances where persons are captured resisting arrest, they can be heard asking the police why they are being arrested, but the officers do not reply.
"I believe that that policy or that course of conduct may be based on the fact that they would want to go to the station to speak to superior officers to determine what they want to charge you for, but they want to arrest you immediately without telling you the reason for the arrest... and the non-answer to that may somehow cause the citizen to react a certain way," the JFJ director reasoned.
Mr. Clarke argued that the law recognizes that citizens have a right to be told the reason for their arrest, prior to being detained, and that "if the police is doing a lawful arrest, then the citizen must comply".
But he suggested that a recent Court of Appeal ruling "made it clear that the citizen has no duty to adhere to an unlawful execution of duty (arrest); it's only the lawful execution of duty the citizen has a duty to adhere to".
DPP biased?
Mr. Clarke also responded to a call from Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Paula Llewellyn for human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice to educate the public about not resisting arrest.
He said the JFJ has already been conducting community workshops in relation to citizens' rights and the engagement of the police. The JFJ, he said, also has a radio programme which it uses to discuss these issues.
Still, Mr. Clarke believes both citizens and the police need education.
But the JFJ director contended that the DPP's recent comments that the police are "getting basket to carry water" gives the impression that "it is the citizens who are the problem and the citizens who need education and not the police themselves".
Mr. Clarke said the DPP should be more careful in her statements because they could be interpreted that her office is biased towards the police, even though it is supposed to be "an independent and impartial authority in relation to decisions involving police".
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