Tivoli Gardens residents have accused members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) of physical abuse and of threatening to shoot indiscriminately at young men in the community.
The residents’ attempt to use debris and abandoned vehicles to block a section of Spanish Town Road on Wednesday were thwarted by the swift action of the police, whose presence, alongside a heavy contingent of JDF personnel, kept the protest peaceful though tense.
The fury behind Wednesday’s demonstration stemmed from a fierce firefight between gunmen and the security forces in sections of the community, namely Lizard Town, Courts, and Java, on Monday night.
Kingston Western Member of Parliament Desmond McKenzie, who visited the community yesterday, told The Gleaner that residents had described the Monday gun battle as frightening.
McKenzie confirmed that he received reports that some members of the security forces had taken a heavy-handed approach to residents of Tivoli Gardens.
