Vershon to be banned from Clarendon? - Artiste says he has heard rumours

Dancehall artiste Vershon says he has received news that he will be banned from performing in Clarendon for two years because of an altercation between himself and police personnel at the recently held Summer Sizzle show in the parish.

The entertainer, who took to his Instagram page earlier this week to speak about the incident, told THE STAR that he was disrespected by police after he refused to hand over a beer bottle from which he was drinking.

In the Instagram video, the artiste said that he is "a law-abiding citizen" but felt the police did not show him any respect.

"I am not above the law. I respect the law, but you have some police out there that are abusing their power," he said in the caption. "Dem feel like tru dem a police, dem can do anything and get weh wid it, and because of that, dem try fi disrespect di yutes dem. Dem say fi respect police, but respect goes both ways."

The entertainer said that since the incident, he has been receiving word about a ban.

Vershon said a senior lawman "come a grab the bottle outta me hand, and him not even tell me say fi dash it weh or drink out the rest a it, him just run come an grab it outta me hand".

"Mi say, 'A wah kinda disrespect this?' so me draw back the bottle, and him drape me up, and we inna one piece a tassle outta the gate till all one a mi bredren dem get all cut pan him foot and baay supmn. And now me a hear say him a tell people say me must get ban from Clarendon and me nuffi come back come perform and any show me deh pan a Clarendon him a come lock it off and dem thing deh. Him can't do that," said Vershon.

LOOKING INTO CLAIMS

But when THE STAR contacted commanding officer for the Clarendon police, Senior Superintendent Vendolyn Cameron-Powell, she told THE STAR that she would be looking into the artiste's claims as there have been no reports made against him so far.

She said that if the deejay was behaving in an unruly manner after being given an instruction by a commanding officer on the ground at the event, the police reserve the right to reprimand him as they see fit, which could include initiating a ban.

"I will have to find out what exactly happened with the ground commander because no incident was reported from Summer Sizzle. It was a very good event held in the parish, so I will have to make some checks on that," she said. "I don't know about it, but if he comes into our parish and doesn't conform with the laws of Jamaica and the orders laid down by the police officers working, then we will ban him like any other unruly citizen."