CoP: Morvant families right to remember 3 killed by police

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said the community of Second Caledonia, Morvant was right to mark the anniversary of three men who were killed by the police a year ago – but questioned its silence on the murder of two teenagers around the same time.

Speaking at what may have been his final press conference during his three-year term as CoP, Griffith said the police were "working feverishly" to complete the investigation into the deaths of three men killed on June 27, 2020 "so we can put this matter to rest."

"If anybody is culpable they will be dealt with," he said.

Joel Jacobs, 38, Noel Diamond, 46, and Israel Clinton, 27, were riddled with bullets when they were stopped at Juman Drive, shortly after 2 pm that day by more than 18 heavily armed police officers attached to the Guard and Emergency Branch and the Inter-Agency Task Force.

The officers claimed Jacobs reached for a weapon in the car and they fired in self-defence. CCTV footage captured from a nearby home appeared to contradict the officers' account and sparked protests across the country for three days.

Seven of the officers were taken off active duty, while 11 others were assigned desk duty pending the outcome of the probe.

Griffith said people should be vocal and come forward to give evidence not only when police kill someone but in all cases of murder.

He said he intends to use sport and community policing to help forge better relationships with communities which have negative relationships with the police, but referred to satisfaction surveys which showed an 80 per cent positive rating for the service.

"Stats don't lie," he said, but admitted there will always be rogue police officers, and any infraction smears the entire force of 8,000.

Griffith said police also came from the society, but they must be held to a higher standard.

"I will continue to a lot to clean up the police service. I am not going to cover up any wrongdoing. I am not going to hide it," he said.