Health imposter wants hero status

Kazrae Gray, the imposter, who, along with an accomplice, barefacedly led government officials, journalists and members of the public into believing he was a public heath inspector, says he should be considered a hero for highlighting the gaping holes in country's health system.

Using fake ID cards and dressed as public health inspectors, Gray and his accomplice, Chuck Starr, visited an Island Grill store in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on November 13, where they carried out an assessment. Ten days later, Gray spoke from the platform at a ceremony staged by the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation for the reopening of Crab Circle.

Gray, who used the name Randy Bucktoe, told THE STAR that his actions were part of a social experiment.

"I think I've done more good than bad because, as you can see, a nuh like this was something to make a mockery of the health system," Gray, a content creator, said yesterday.

He also told THE STAR that he never thought anyone would take him seriously when he showed restaurant personnel a fake ID with an outlandish expiration date.

"I have long hair, I have beard. My name is Mr Bucktoe, I have an ID that expires 2090, and it's a piece a paper," he said. "Mi mek the ID as obvious as possible fi show seh it fake. A nuh like mi guh the extra mile fi try fi be legitimate fi mek people feel or think seh I'm a real inspector," he added.

Gray said that he has achieved his goal by showing the public how easy persons can gain access to spaces without proper identification.

"These well-known facilities, none of these asked for any form of identification. Is just a suit where we can purchase at the store. Anybody can purchase the suit and these persons granted us access to private places. So what if we had ill intention? What if we had a gun?" Gray questioned.

Public health officials, including portfolio minister Dr Christopher Tufton, have called for Gray and his accomplice to be sanctioned. However, Gray said he is not worried about any possible prosecution.

"Mi know seh mi spread awareness, and at least mi help couple people, suh they can just call me the hero," Gray said. "Mi just a spread awareness seh not because somebody in a one government uniform, the proper check need to conducted before yuh let somebody in yuh place or inna yuh facility or inna yuh home," Gray said.

The content creator said that Jamaicans are being too sensitive, as in other parts of the world, his content would be understood.

"These are ideas that people overseas do. People dress up as police, they have police car they drive down people, they stop people them seh dem a ticket people," he said. "Wouldn't that [impersonating a cop] be more critical than a health inspector? Suh people overseas duh these stuff all the time."

Gray has ran afoul of the law in the past. He was released from prison in 2019 after spending time for lottery scamming.

"That was in my past. I have done my time already and now I'm a changed man," he said.