Police And Taxi Operators Clash In St Andrew | TVJ News

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[00:00:01][music] >> Welcome back. We're continuing the news.

[00:00:06]A dramatic police arrest caught on camera this evening is fueling tension among police officers and taxi operators in St. Andrew. At least four people were arrested and some commuters reported minor injuries after being pepper sprayed during the angry exchange. The incident caused dozens of taxi operators to converge at the Constant Spring police station demanding answers.

[00:00:28]Kalisha Williams has that story.

[00:00:31]This is the moment things got heated on Chancery Street in St. Andrew Tuesday morning.

[00:00:45]And then it escalated.

[00:00:56]As onlookers joined in the expletive-laden tirade.

[00:01:04]It's not clear what exactly led to the incident, but we can say it involved a taxi operators and police officers attached to the Constant Spring police station. And so later in the afternoon, frustrated taxi operators and commuters gathered at the police station to demand answers. It's an unfortunate situation, you know. I I I see our view as a poor.

[00:01:27]Um shots were fired, you know, I can't say much because it's going to be in the court, but all I can say is we all just want a good relationship with officers.

[00:01:36]We had it before, but a few new police now are messing up that relationship. In this man on Chancery Street, I was there from the start.

[00:01:45]But I get caught up in the escalation between the taxi men and the JCF force.

[00:01:51]I was about to just come out of the taxi. I was about to go about my business. And then I saw two officers from the Constant Spring division pull on to a bus driver. The bus driver was saying, "Officer, it is not me." And by the time them jerk him, you see them give me some shots in two box already.

[00:02:08]Camille Bravo, a commuter who was in the area at the time, said she's still recovering from the pepper spray. So she went to the police station to make a formal report. They caught me in my high and in my throat and kept me son. And I went to went over to him and I finished and took out my JP ID. And she must say, "Good morning, officer." I approached him properly. I say, "Good morning, officer." And I show him the ID and he took it from me. Both of them say, "You know I didn't find him. You know I didn't find him." And I told them a hundred times to that.

[00:02:36]And I just walked away with my eye burning, my throat burning. After went home and go for the um the pump for my son because my son is a asthmatic patient. In a response, the police called a snap meeting with the taxi operators and their unions to address the problem. Head of crime for the St. Andrew North police, DSP Glendale Murdock, advised the attendees not to resist arrests when confronted by the police. He said four people were arrested in relation to the incident on Chancery Street. And going forward, he said the police will continue to be fair and transparent in carrying out their operations.

[00:03:12]So I would say to you, those of you who witnessed what transpired this morning and are so inclined, provide a statement to him in the com in the com can do their and they can report and justice can be served. At the end of the at the end of all of this, all of us should have the same objective. We Jamaica to increase in beauty and peace.

[00:03:32]Kalisha Williams, TVJ News.