‘Mi affi get justice fi me friend’ - West Kingston man ready to testify in soldier shooting case

A west Kingston resident who says Horaine Glenn was killed after intervening when he was being mistreated by Jamaica Defence Force soldiers has vowed to get justice for his friend.

Glenn was shot and killed last Saturday on Charles Street in a section of Tivoli Gardens, known as Midtown, when he allegedly grabbed a soldier's weapon. The man told THE STAR that before Glenn's demise, for more than two minutes, the soldiers used their helmets to butt him while using their boots to kick him repeatedly.

"Mi never do dem nutten, enuh. Dem reach a di corner and see me and jam mi wid gun. One a dem say to mi say 'mi hear say a you a di gunman weh a lock gun and a shoot offa wi a night time'," he said. "Poor me weh no know bout dem things deh. Di soldier dem a beat me fi nutten, butt mi up wid dem helmet and gun all when mi mother and father a come dem still a dweet." He added that he was feeling devastated to know that Glenn died after intervening.

"When mi see him a lay dung inna di back a di police jeep, mi heart leap. If it means say mi affi go inna court fi testify, mi affi get justice fi me friend," he said. "I feel bad because Horaine come in like a family to me. Mi cyah believe say mi nah go see mi friend again."

Meanwhile, member of parliament for West Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, has urged residents who witnessed the incident to come forward and give statements to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), who has since commenced an investigation.

"I am hoping that my presence here will restore some level of confidence in the area. We are going to be providing all the support to the family to get them through. But I will say again, the only way for this investigation to come through is for the eyewitnesses to come forward and give their statements in writing on what took place," he said.

McKenzie, who yesterday addressed irate residents, told THE STAR that his office will provide Glenn's family with whatever support they need in their pursuit for justice.

"I am prepared to engage the chief of staff in discussions on the matter. We want to go using the correct process in order to get to the truth. Nobody is going to pass any aspersions and point any fingers. If the evidence is there, we are going to use the evidence that is available to deal with this matter. I have given assurances to the community, to the family, to the police when I spoke to the superintendent, that we will ensure we maintain law and order and allow for the investigations to flow. I believe that this matter is one that I believe needs to be ventilated fully and where the chip falls let it lie," he said.

INDECOM's commissioner, Hugh Faulkner, said that his officers have already seized the weapons of the soldiers and have submitted them to the forensic lab for ballistic testing.

Since Saturday night's shooting, the residents have protested the shooting of Glenn who they said was killed in cold blood.