Thousands Riot Near Resort Town’s Airport

Thousands rioted in a community near Montego Bay’s airport today burning buses and blocking roads after police killed two older men in an alleged shoot-out.

Air passengers going west of the resort town’s Sangster International Airport were able to leave, but those coming from or going to the east were blocked. It was unclear how many passengers have been affected.

About 2,000 rioters burned at least five cars and four large buses in the middle of a 15-mile (24-kilometre road heading east of the airport. The vehicles burned along a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre stretch of the road.

Residents lit a fire at the road leading to the nearby Sandals Montego Bay resort, blocking people from entering or leaving, independent RJR radio reported.

More than 100 police and soldiers have been deployed. Earlier, residents threw rocks and bottles at officers and police attempted to disperse the crowd with tear gas. They later tried to clear the roadway, but protesters converged again and some sat in the road in front of heavy equipment as police tried to move the burning vehicles.

No injuries or arrests have been reported.

The violence began early today after police killed two men who allegedly opened fire on officers from their car, police Superintendent Newton Amos said. Investigators recovered two weapons, he said.

Police refused to identify the men, but relatives identified them as taxi driver David Bacchas, 63, and newspaper vendor Cecil Brown, 66. An older woman was also injured in the shooting.

A woman who identified herself as Bacchas’ daughter told RJR radio she had witnessed the shooting.

“I saw every bullet that went through their car,” she said. “I saw everything that happened here. And what I saw was murder.”

Police said they would issue a statement later today.

Jamaica’s 8,000-member police force, long criticised by human rights groups for alleged abuse, has been considering a stricter policy against using force to reduce the number of fatal shootings by officers.

Jamaica has one of the world’s highest per capita rates of police killings, according to Amnesty International. Last year, police killed 133 people, down from 148 in 2001. So far this year, 106 people have died at the hands of police.

Currently, officers are allowed to use lethal force in certain situations, such as when an officer’s life is threatened or to prevent the escape of a known felon considered dangerous.

Rights groups, however, say police routinely kill suspects in so-called shoot-outs rather than subject them to the country’s inefficient justice system. Few officers have been charged in such killings.

Extra-judicial killings in Jamaica came under renewed scrutiny in 2001 when members of an elite police squad investigating the death of a policeman killed seven young men during a raid outside Kingston. An inquiry later absolved the officers of wrongdoing. The squad has since been disbanded.

Earlier this year, London-based Amnesty cited forensic evidence and witness testimony suggesting the police had executed the seven men. The government rejected Amnesty’s findings.

While much of the island of 2.6 million is largely crime-free, gun violence is frequent in parts of Kingston. Last year 1,045 people were reported killed in Jamaica, compared with 786 so far this year.