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Paulette Parker, grandmother of Constable Jessica West; Patricia Nembhard, aunt of Constable Shawn Atkins; Sergeant Arleen McBean, Chairman of the Police Federation; Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of PSTEB
By Lorraine Walker
Relatives of two police officers killed in a crash in York Town Clarendon on Sunday evening are struggling to come to grips with the tragedy.
Constables Jessica West and Shawn Atkins were part of a team of five officers responding to a report that three suspects were spotted on a motorcycle along the York Town main road.
Upon reaching a section of the road, the service vehicle skidded and the driver reportedly lost control of the unit.
The vehicle reportedly overturned into a ditch.
The injured police officers were taken to hospital where constables West and Atkins were pronounced dead and three other officers hospitalised in stable condition.
Paulette Parker, grandmother of Constable West, said her granddaughter had been a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force for just over a year.
Ms Parker recounted the last conversation she had with Constable West.
"I spoke to her some minutes after one yesterday and I send her a message on WhatsApp and she said, 'Alright mama, mi aguh deal wid it when mi come' and that was the last time mi talk to har, until mi get the news from the police that she dead in an accident."
Bemoaning the difficulty in coming to terms with her granddaughter's death, Ms. Parker said the family was "just holding on to the memories and that smiling countenance that she [left] with us".
Meanwhile, the aunt of Constable Atkins, Patricia Nembhard, said a career in the JCF was her nephew's dream job.
"From he left high school he wanted to work with the government somehow, and he joined the force. Oh my God, Shawn was such a humble youth. Oh my God, and disciplined. You would not find Shawn on the street, he's always in the house. This is such a tragedy," she lamented.
Constables Atkins and West were attached to the Area 3 police.
The Jamaica Police Federation on Monday participated in grief counselling for members of the Area 3 police.
Sergeant Arleen McBean, who chairs the Federation, said the officers are distressed at the tragic loss of their colleagues.
"It was really a devastating feeling for most persons who were present but you know the support team, we are here on the ground with our colleagues ensuring that we go through this healing process together. And I want to use this opportunity to express deepest condolences to the family and friends of our colleagues who lost their lives in this tragic accident," she said.
Safety protocols
Changes could be coming to safety protocols for police officers during vehicle patrols, following Sunday evening's crash.
Sergeant McBean said the Police High Command, Area leadership and the Federation will have to meet to decide on the measures to be implemented.
"[The meeting will be] looking at how we maintain vehicles within the JCF, how we dispatch our colleagues, how the reaction should be recognised, if there needs to be any form of intervention externally or you know we have sufficient resources internally. It's an overall assessment that can be done together as we heal together."
The crash has sparked public discourse on the wearing of seatbelts by police officers in service vehicles.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), told Radio Jamaica News that while the drivers of service vehicles are required to wear seatbelts, there are exemptions for passengers.
"In situations where the police have to act... the police will have to do what is required to ensure that they are able to manoeuvre themselves depending on the situation," he sought to explain.