Caribbean & Central America - August 2014 (ISSN 1741-4458)

On 30 June, Jamaica’s police commissioner Owen Ellington announced his sudden retirement as head of the Jamaican Constabulary Force. Reasons given included distancing himself from the force’s management prior to the start of the West Kingston Commission of Enquiry into the May 2010 Tivoli case (when 76 civilians were killed during the operation to arrest drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke), and the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) enquiry into allegations that a police ‘death squad’ operated within the Clarendon Division. Speculation continues as to the possible role of the US government in Ellington’s departure.

Initially Minister of National Security Peter Bunting said that Ellington’s retirement would remove any danger of influence on his part in either of the enquiries. However, on 15 July Bunting told the House of Representatives that unidentified international partners had withdrawn some support for the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Ellington has been recognized as a key player in the significant reduction in murder rates throughout the island during his term, which has in turn sparked suspicion as to his decision to leave. Many media sources question whether this could stem from US pressure. On 7 July Television Jamaica reported that the Barack Obama administration had imposed an arms embargo on Jamaica due to claims of human rights infringements within the police force. Under the US Human Rights’ Leahy Act, the Department of State and Department of Defense are prohibited from supplying any form of military assistance “to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.

Ellington’s lawyer, Howard Mitchell, has said that ‘pressure at the top of the cliff’ - ie the US government - had likely caused the commissioner to ‘jump’, yet exact reasons remain unclear. Similar speculation has surfaced surrounding whether or not Ellington’s US visa has been revoked, yet equally, details have not been released.