Police Urges Compliance with Safety Protocol Advisories

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, is urging persons to comply with the various safety messages and protocols that have been issued by the police and other State agencies for their protection.

She told JIS News that the police continue to maintain public order and assist with disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

“The police are out there trying to support all the different communities across the island. One of the things that we really want people to do is, whenever we have those advisories, they’re precautions to keep persons safe [and] we really want them to obey them. So if there is a curfew in place and we say you’re not to move, then we expect persons to just stay home until whenever the situation changes,” SSP Lindsay said.

The senior officer further urges persons not to attempt to cross flooded gullies or streams.

“We know that there are some places that are still getting rain. So we don’t want people to attempt to cross gullies and streams, because they can be swept away by water,” she pointed out.

Meanwhile, the CCU Chief told JIS News that the presence of the security forces dissuaded persons from looting during the storm.

“In the past we would have seen where persons used the opportunity of the cover of dark… to loot. The team was set up to prevent that [and] we never had those challenges. Overall, I think the plan we put in place and executed… worked, and we are very grateful that we didn’t get the full impact of the hurricane, because things could have been worse.

“We continue to be out there and we [implore] persons to listen to and follow the various advisories from the ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management), MET Office (Meteorological Services Branch) or the police and just comply, so that we can return to normal as quick as possible,” she said.

Meanwhile, SSP Lindsay informed that two fatalities have been reported as a result of Hurricane Beryl.

The deceased are a 26-year-old female from Green Island, Hanover, identified as Kayon Sterling, and a 26-year-old St. Andrew man, identified as Alrick Moncrieffe.

It is reported that Ms. Sterling was outside her house in Green Island at around 4:40 pm, when a tree limb fell on her during the storm. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, Mr. Moncrieffe is alleged to have been attempting to retrieve a football from a gully in the community of Havana in Arnett Gardens, St Andrew, when he was washed away by flood waters.

He was reportedly among a group of men playing football at the Collie Smith Mini Stadium in the community when the incident happened.

The security forces have since launched a search in the area in an attempt to recover his body.