Cop braves rushing river to quell dispute

On Tuesday, Member of Parliament for south east St Mary Dr Winston Green begged the Government to place a bridge across the Wag Water River for residents of one the communities in his constituency to access their community.

Two weeks before his plea, Sergeant Christopher Ward, from the Castleton Police Station in St Mary, waded the brackish Wag Water River to quell a dispute between two residents in the Chesterfield community.

"I was alerted about a dispute in the community, and that is the only access to the community, so despite the condition, we just have to cross the river to do it," Ward said.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

A picture of Ward with his pants rolled to his knees and boots in his hand after he had crossed the river has been making rounds on social media. The image was originally posted on the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Facebook page with the caption "Christopher Ward going above and beyond the call of duty to serve his community."

Four months earlier, Ward's situation was not as picturesque when he crossed the river to deal with another matter in Chesterfield.

"In May, I was responding to another dispute, me and Constable Dixon. I was skipping across stones just to get over and I just flipped off one and fell into the river," Ward said. "Nothing really happened to me. I just got wet."

The ten-year JCF veteran said that he realises that disputes contribute to a lot of major crimes in Jamaica, thus his effort to prevent them from escalating.

"I prefer to risk it to get rid of the dispute than having a murder," Ward said.

In his address to Parliament on Tuesday, Green said more needs to be done for the people of his constituency, as far as infrastructure is concerned. He pointed, for example, to the town of Annotto Bay, which he said needs to be protected.

Green suggested that boulders be put in the area to prevent storm surges threatening lives and properties.

"We cannot leave the town of Annotto Bay to the ravages of the elements," he said.