Senior
Superintendent of Police Reneto Adams and his supporters
are convinced that his acquittal on a murder charge
entitles him to return to policing. However, his performance
as head of the Crime Management Unit (CMU) does not
correlate with the pledge Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller
made to the Jamaican people in her inaugural address.
She committed herself to advancing human rights and
individual liberty, to treating each individual life
as sacred, and to ensuring that individual liberty was
never sacrificed to protect society as a whole.
Nonetheless,
Adams’ reinstatement seems certain, give or take
differences of opinion between Commissioner Lucius Thomas
and the Police Services Commission (PSC) [1].
Close to two years before Adams was tried for the murders
of two men and two women in Crawle, Commissioner of
Police Lucius Thomas said [2], "I
would reinstate him into the system because he has something
to offer.” More recently, Thomas and the PSC have
seemed at variance as to who should undertake the ultimate
responsibility for re-instating Adams.
Public
Defender Howard Hamilton, Queen’s Counsel with
over 40 years’ experience as a barrister, has
publicly defended Adams’ right to be reinstated
without delay. Hamilton, interviewed on the talk show
“Perkins-On-Line”, based his position on
Adams' acquittal, and on Adams’ proven popularity.
Adams’
celebrity status is unquestionable. He is invited to
attend high-profile gatherings and to address middle
class ladies’ club meetings. His signature dark
glasses and SWAT gear give more than a hint of Rambo
theatre on the streets. The media has responded to his
posturing by providing a vehicle for his pronouncements,
and a showcase for his lifestyle. For example, Adams
enjoyed wide publicity when he claimed that the principle
of the presumption of guilt till innocence is proven
is merely semantics, and that human rights bodies (including
the United Nations) offer criminals protection, sympathy
and empathy. The authorities have generally failed to
distance themselves from Adams’ statements.
His image
creates an illusion of security for Jamaicans weary
of crime and fear of crime. Chairman of Air Jamaica
and the Sandals Group, Gordon "Butch" Stewart
praised Adams for exceptional performance in policing
[3]. Further, a newspaper reporter
said, “… everywhere that Reneto Adams walks
in the land, ordinary folks flock to touch the hem of
his garment…” [4]
Adams
also portrays a brand of lethal policing in which suspected
wrongdoers can expect “justice” at gunpoint.
His unit was involved in killings at Crawle, Braeton,
and Tivoli Gardens in which a total of 38 Jamaicans
lost their lives. In addition, Adams was in charge of
operations that resulted in the shooting deaths of at
least another 30 persons including:
- Sylvester
“Punkie” Wint , killed April 2000, in
a JLP enclave on Mountain View Avenue, Kingston. Adams
said Wint fired at the police, using a baby as a shield.
However, Wint was heard on videotape pleading with
the police, and his girlfriend said on a television
news report that she saw the police kill Wint in cold
blood.
- Andrew “Phang” Stephens killed October
2001 in Meadowbrook Estate, St Andrew. He was said
to be a gang leader in a JLP community, and the police
claimed he was shot in a gun battle. Persons in Meadowbrook
Estate said Adams’ unit handcuffed Stephens
and took him to a police vehicle. He was then reportedly
taken back inside a yard and shot dead.
The authorities seemed to have endorsed Adams’ way
of operating, until May 2003 when he was removed from
front line duty pending investigation into the Crawle
killings. In October 2001, Assistant Commissioner Alrick
Lecky, in reviewing the first year of the CMU’s
operations [5], criticised Adams for
chatting too much to the media. Lecky also voiced serious
concerns about the operational conduct of officers in
the CMU. The findings of the Lecky report were never released
to the public.
On November
6, 2002, CMU policemen (12 of the then total of 26) reported
sick for work, complaining they suffered from headaches
and stomach pains [6]. However, sources
suggested the policemen were protesting against Adams’
leadership style.
The
Police Federation, in a November 11, 2002 letter to the
then Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes, demanded Adams’
removal “forthwith” [7].
The Federation also called for an investigation into claims
and counter-claims of corruption in the CMU. Forbes ordered
the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to investigate
the allegations. However, OPR’s findings were never
made known to the public.
Despite
the questions raised about Adams’ leadership style,
Minister of National Security Dr Peter Phillips, in a
December 2002 crime initiative, increased to 100 the number
of men under Adams’ command.
Since
Adams’ removal from active duty, members of the
public have consistently called for his return to the
streets. For example, a parish councillor said, [8]
“We need to get Mr. Adams back on the road. Where
it reach now we have to fight fire with fire. Mr. Adams
is the only real crime fighter. He is the only one who
can put some fear in the gunmen." A message posted
on the Radio Jamaica website stated [9],
“We need more cops like SSP Adams to deal with the
crimes we have in Jamaica. He has a great impact on the
criminal and has assisted in the decrease of criminal
activities.”
However,
available data do not support perceptions of Adams’
success as a crime fighter. Former Commissioner of Police
Francis Forbes wrote a letter to a newspaper showing that
crime actually worsened during the time the Adams-led
CMU was in operation. [10]. He said,
“When one compares the 33 months of (the) CMU with
the preceding 33 months, the results reflect that during
the CMU period there were 346 more murders, 184 more shootings
and 145 more rapes.” In addition, he noted that
in the first full year of the CMU’s operation, Jamaica’s
homicide rate reached its highest up to that time - 1,139.
Forbes said the time had come to change direction and
to tackle the crime problem with a new approach to bring
a higher level of professionalism
The
conduct of the Braeton and Crawle operations supported
Forbes’ concerns about professionalism in the CMU.
For example, storming a building is usually considered
as the final policing option, since it places lives of
police and non-combatant civilians at risk. However, Adams
did not instruct his CMU team even to cordon the Braeton
or Crawle houses, let alone use tear gas or psychological
pressure to flush out any wanted persons from the houses.
Indeed, of the total of 11 persons killed inside the Braeton
and Crawle houses, the police had a warrant for the arrest
of only one. On the other hand, a UK police unit in 2003
surrounded Eli Hall’s Hackney flat, took cover from
his periodic gunfire, cut his water and electricity, disrupted
his sleep, negotiated with him, and waited 15 days till
he was overcome by a fire he set [11].
Hall was known to be an ex-convict and dangerous gunman
who had previously shot at unarmed policemen.
Questions
of Adams’ professionalism arise with respect to
two policemen who still face the court on charges of unlawfully
transporting a firearm to plant at Crawle and thus give
substance to the police shootout story. In addition, he
breached policing regulations when his men not only picked
up their own spent shells, but also failed to hand over
these shells to investigators. Most seriously, he left
bleeding bodies for 1½ hours (Braeton) and 4 hours
(Crawle) before dispatching them to hospital.
The
large numbers of people who perceive Adams as the only
buffer against criminal onslaught, will celebrate his
anticipated return to frontline duty. However, given Minister
Simpson-Miller’s stated commitment to change, the
authorities may need to send the clear message that the
police force has room only for professionals who are uncompromising
in their respect for human rights and individual liberty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] See
Spat over Reneto - Public Defender says cop's reinstatement
taking too long, British officials won't condone it Gleaner
June 1, 2006
[2] See
What About Adams written by Glenroy Sinclair Gleaner March
6, 2005
[3] See
'Face the music, JTB' - Harassment hurting, Butch Stewart
says Gleaner April 9 2001
[4] See
Reneto Adams: Anti-hero or superhero - the nemesis of
the gunman Observer June 5, 2005
[5] See
CMU review ordered Gleaner October 25, 2001
[6] See
Cops in Adams’ squad report sick Observer November
7 2002
[7] See
Adams' fate unsure - Commissioner delays verdict on CMU
boss Police Federation wants him removed now Gleaner November
12, 2002
[8] See
Record Hanover murders in 2005 Gleaner January 4, 2006
[9] See
Radio Jamaica website April 20, 2006 http://www.radiojamaica.com/news/readercomments.php?category=0&story=24243
[10] See
Forbes launches broadside against CMU Observer June 19,
2003
[11] See
Who was the Hackney gunman? BBC News January 10 January,
2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2643679.stm
