The Police High Command and the Independent Commission of Investigations are probing a reported armed confrontation between two members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force along the Spur Tree main road in Manchester during an apparent road rage incident on Saturday.
One of the policemen, a corporal, escaped serious injuries after a bullet grazed his forehead.
The incident, which occurred about two p.m., involved a corporal, attached to the Manchester Police and a Detective Corporal from the Westmoreland division.
Both men have given conflicting accounts of what led to the exchange of gunfire.
According to the wounded corporal, he was travelling towards Mandeville in his a grey Toyota Axio, accompanied by a woman, when on reaching Spur Tree, a grey Nissan AD Wagon overtook a line of traffic and pulled up alongside his vehicle.
He said the driver of the Nissan vehicle opened fire in his direction after he questioned him.
The corporal said he accelerated away towards Mandeville after coming under heavy gunfire.
He was grazed on the forehead and was later treated at hospital.
The woman escaped unharmed after a bullet reportedly struck her side of the vehicle.
Second account
In his account, the 57 year-old detective corporal told investigators that it was the Toyota Axio that overtook his vehicle before pulling to the left side of the roadway.
He said he subsequently overtook the Axio and further alleged that he heard the driver directing expletives at him.
The detective corporal said he observed the driver holding what appeared to be a firearm.
He told investigators that, fearing for his life, he took evasive action and discharged five rounds towards the Toyota Axio.
The policeman said he then proceeded towards St. Elizabeth and reported the incident at the Nain police station.
Investigators say they observed multiple bullet holes to the right driver's door and one to the left passenger-side window of the Toyota Axio.
The investigators added that the circumstances raise significant concerns regarding firearm discipline, threat identification, and the potential misuse of service weapons during an off-duty/roadway confrontation.
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