Cops arrested for extorting men seen in parked car

Western Bureau:

While some police officers are throwing their full weight behind the efforts to blunt the debilitating lawlessness in St James, some of their colleagues appear to be undermining their work by becoming part of the problem by dabbling in criminal activities.

Last Wednesday, officers assigned to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force (MOCA) arrested three policemen (two police constables and a district constable), who allegedly tried to extort money from two men who they claimed they had caught in a compromising position in a car.

The policemen, who have not been identified, are all attached to the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay. They are reportedly being held at the lock-up at the Falmouth Police Station, pending further investigations.

According to reports, late Monday afternoon, the two constables stopped to check on a motor car, which was seen parked at an isolated location. They reportedly found two prominent males from the western city in the car. The cops reportedly accused the men of being homosexuals and became aggressive towards them.

While searching the men, a district constable, who was passing by, saw what was happening and joined in. During the search of the men, one of the cops reportedly found $10,000 in a wallet belonging to one of the men and promptly pocketed the money. The men were then told that they should pay over an additional sum or face being exposed as homosexuals.

The men were subsequently released after arrangements were made for the additional sum to be paid over the following day.

However, instead of sticking to the arrangement, the men reported the matter to MOCA. As a result of their complaint, the three policemen were taken into custody.