SHOCK AND ANGER - Morant Bay’s ‘Chippy’ Hue dies a week before wedding anniversary

Harold 'Chippy' Hue and his wife Monica would have celebrated 29 years of marriage tomorrow, four days after his 81st birthday. But instead of the celebration in the Hue household, family members are planning for his funeral.

Chippy Hue, as he is affectionately called, a businessman of the Church Corner community in Morant Bay, St Thomas, died of a heart attack hours after police raided his family home last Friday.

Monica said they shared a strong bond and their love was pure. No wonder the way in which Chippy Hue died has left her devastated.

"If you saw one of our marriage pictures, you would see the type of bond between the both of us. If he's going to the bathroom he will say to me, 'I'm going to the bathroom, if you don't see me come back within certain time come and check on me'. I will leave to the market or wherever and don't report to him, but anywhere this man is going, this man reports to me. He is the type of person that if I want to go to America in the morning, he wouldn't object or question it. He doesn't fuss about anything. People will have their ups and downs, but nobody knows when we are upset with each other," she added.

Blamed the police

Chippy Hue was equally loved throughout his community, where members described him as a man with a big heart. They say Church Corner is now poorer for his passing. His daughter, Jennifer, has blamed the police for his demise. The senior citizen was on his way to speak with the police in Morant Bay, following a raid at his house. He collapsed minutes away from the station and was pronounced dead at hospital.

His wife, Monica, said the episode began about 9:30 Friday morning when a heavy contingent of police showed up at their home with a search warrant. She told THE STAR that more than 30 police personnel entered her premises, scattered themselves in her yard, pointed a gun at her dog, herself and her 16-year-old grandchild, who was lying in bed, all prior to providing her with a warrant.

"I am 65 years old, and this likkle boy going to look at a big woman like me and push up gun in mi face and tell me to step back? Inna mi premises? They just force themselves in here," she said.

Superintendent Allison Byfield, head of the St Thomas Police, dismissed claims from Hue's family members that the personnel under his command acted unprofessionally while on the operation.

"The police acted on information and intelligence and carried out a search. The search was done in the presence of the lawyer, and there was no complaint from the lawyer for seeming unprofessional. We actually had four senior officers who were at the operation and we showed a search warrant to Mrs Hue, as also the attorney," she said.

Family members said that Chippy Hue was not home at the time of the operation. The police said nothing illegal was found.

"We didn't want to call him and tell him because he has a heart condition four years now and him two other brothers died of heart attack," said Jennifer, who described her father as an upstanding man.

"My daddy mek awning for people all over various parishes. Him is a fisherman, play domino, used to mek patties and supply schools, we even have furniture in the house right now that he made. Daddy was a jack of all trades. Dem call him 'General' and 'MacGyver'. Dem seh if you have a nut to pull and can't pull it, if you take it to him and him can't either then it cyah pull."

Joining in on the fond memories, his wife shared, "When we were living at Trinityville, he took in about seven children to live with us. When we were moving here, I asked what him going to do because we couldn't carry them with us, and as soon as we moved, he found a fresh set and moved them in.

"One evening I went to Kingston and when I came back home, before I even drive in, he ran to the vehicle and said, 'Hold on, you hungry?' And I said yes. He asked if I bought anything that I could eat and I said no.

I asked if the helper didn't cook and he said yes, but mi mustn't quarrel. I asked what happened ... he said some friends came and said they were hungry, and he gave them my dinner. That was just the type of person he was."