IN JAMAICA (UPDATE): Police murder a wicked act, says Area Commander Kevin Blake... “This is further evidence that while significant gains have been made in reducing the number of murders in 2014, the fight against criminals is not over.

Friday, December 19, 2014 | 8:45 AM    

MANDEVILLE, Manchester -- Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for Police Area Three, which includes the parish of Manchester, Kevin Blake, is describing the murder last night of Constable Orville Preddie as a wicked act and one which must be condemned by the entire society.

Constable Preddie ... second cop killed on 2014

“This is further evidence that while significant gains have been made in reducing the number of murders in 2014, the fight against criminals is not over.

“The manner in which Constable Preddie was murdered speaks to the callousness of these murderers. We mourn for our colleague and I offer my personal sympathies and that of the Constabulary to the family, friends and colleagues of Constable Preddie,” ACP Blake told OBSERVER ONLINE Friday morning.

Police say Preddie who was off duty and unarmed was relaxing with friends at a bar in the remote community of Farm in the Asia police division of southern Manchester when several men armed with guns entered the premises.

The criminals proceeded to rob patrons and in the process of going through their pockets discovered Preddie’s police identification. One of the gunmen promptly shot him in the head. He reportedly died on the spot.

Police Divisional Commander for Superintendent Melvin Brown says “no stone will be left unturned” in the hunt for the killers of the 34 year-old constable. “We will be unrelenting, turning over every stone, exploring every angle… we are resolved to find those responsible,” Brown told OBSERVER ONLINE.

Preddie was married with two children aged eight years and 18 months. He is the second policeman to be killed in 2014. more