pharoah
02-22-03, - 01:23 PM
Jermaine “JAM” Mackey is dead at the age of 27 years of age. These days, reading or hearing about the amount of young men that are being buried every week has become an all too familiar refrain. More and more of our young men are going to their graves before beginning to know themselves.
We are all aware of the criminal elements in our society that are causing havoc in our land. We are also aware that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is responsible for a good percentage of those in the obituaries. But on this fateful night of December 6th, 2002 a horror unimagined would shatter the cool drafty night in the close knitted community of St. James Road. When the dust is clear, December 6th, 2002 will leave behind a dead young man, extreme pain, agony and emotional scars that will take years to heal.
Like a nightmare that have haunted you for what seems like aeons, finally emerge and take shape. The fortunate thing about nightmares is that we can awake and find that it was only a dream. But this night for one Jermaine Mackey the nightmare and reality would become one and the same. An endless abyss from which he can never awake!
An endless nightmare made courtesy not by the normal harbingers of sorrow and pain, namely the Criminal Elements in our society, but by the sick and distorted minds of two police officers. Who to themselves had taken on the mantle to become judge, jury and executioner?
Jermaine is the offspring of a deeply religious and respected family of St. James Road. The Coopers have produced hard working and law-abiding citizens. This quiet and proud family is a bulwark to the St. James Road community. This night the Cooper family would have thrust upon them deep and everlasting pain. For this night- this curse night- they would see their grandchild, nephew, uncle, and brother - lay thrown on the ground like a discarded carcass. His bullet riddled body a few inches from the entrance of his father’s restaurant!
This night like many Friday nights, Jermaine, no doubt looked forward to going to the local Fish Fry - a place where he could hang out and chew the fat, maybe suck down a few suds in the warmth of family and friends. To ‘drop on his boys a vibe or two’ and complain of the ever increasing price of Junkanoo tickets. The normal talks as we approach the festive season. He only wanted to ‘chill out’ after a hectic week; others would soon put him on ice for good.
The irony of the ‘others’ is that these men were sworn to protect and preserve lives! These 'others' were commissioned police officers. This night these two police officers would become in substance what they were trained to capture and bring to Justice:Cold Blooded Murderers!!!
Jermaine like all mortals had his weakness and his strengths. For those of us who know him, he had more strength than weakness. If Jermaine had any enemies they were few. They were certainly not of the variety that would want to kill him.
Whatever Jermaine’s weakness was, it certainly didn’t warrant a death sentence. There will inevitably be a million tales to tell on what transpired on this fateful night of December 6th, 2002. Some will be more colorful than others. Through all the colorful and different dialects of Bahamian expressions, one obvious and undeniable fact will emerge. The police shot and killed a defenseless young man.
This is one murder that the police cannot hide or sweep under the rug. There simply were too many witnesses. One eyewitness, a family member of mine was a mere feet away! For the Police force this is certainly not a good night.
There are many decent and law abiding policemen on the force. I understand that in our land these are trying times for our law enforcement officers. My heart truly goes out for the honest cops who are trying their endeavor best to protect the citizenry.
The police’s job is certainly not an easy one. They must be both tough and sensitive, and strong and compassionate all at the same time. On the other hand the police force must be big enough to accept and quickly prosecute their own when they go against their sworn duties.
Robert Steinbeck, a columnist for the Miami Herald wrote in an article entitled, Police can’t demand the Public’s trust - they must earn it”, “It confuses, divides and angers the public when it appears as though cops are using the unique rules that apply only to them as a cloak to shield them from the consequences of errors in judgment or action”.
So in Jermaine’s senseless killing, justice must not only be done, it must be done swiftly. For the gaping wound to heal, Justice must roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Let us take this time to analyze the subsequent riot. What every critic must understand and not forget is that Jermaine’s death preceded the riot! The riot was a reaction to a senseless killing.
To fully understand what happened on the 6th of December 2002 we need to go back in time. Tensions between the police and the young men of Kemp Road have been building up for years. Jermaine’s death was the proverbial feather that broke the camel’s back.
Let us imagine for a moment the Physics involving volcanoes and earthquakes. Scientists tell us that earthquakes are the result of years of built up pressure that is suddenly released. This pressure is built up because two enormous landmasses move over each other.
The friction builds up heat and extreme pressure, eventually there will be a sudden “crack of fault” that allows this heat and pressure to escape, thus causing tremors and eventually destruction. The pressure in the Kemp Road community was built up because the police was allowed to get away with grave injustice and downright abuse over the years!
Nobody cared about the many complaints of police beatings, unwarranted searches and seizures, constant harassment on the street and outright public denigration of Kemp Roaders!
The prevailing mindset was, “Who gives a damn! They are a bunch of savages anyhow.” Well, if they didn’t give a damn on December 5, 2002, they sure began to take heed by December 7, 2002. The old premise still rings true today that “Justice denied one is justice denied all.”
It is a sad commentary in our land when an innocent young man must die for the powers that be, to listen!
Let the truth be told that the majority of persons who live in Kemp Road are decent and law abiding citizens who care about each other and the well being of this country. How do I know? Well as a popular Bahamian song goes, “Your born there, your born there,” I was born and raised in the heart of Kemp Road.
I was never arrested or charge in relations to any criminal offence.
If the truth were told I am not the exception, I am the rule. The greater percentage of Kemp Roadians can boast the same! So to stereotype Kemp Road because of a few misguided souls is tantamount to “Reckon the power of the ocean by the frailty of its foam,” “To judge us by the few rebel rousers “ is to cast blame upon the seasons for their in constancy”.
So the riot must not be looked at in part, but as a whole. Let me state here emphatically that I don’t condone violence, whether that violence came from the police or from the general public!
In conclusion, Jermaine’s death and the subsequent riot were indeed unfortunate. I am sorry for the police officers that were injured in the melee. I hope for their quick recovery.
While the police wounds will eventually heal, Jermaine Alexander Mackey will be gone forever. Every December 6, will bring pain and sorry to his mother and his entire family. who will replace the void that will be left in Janice Mackey’s heart, his ten-year-old daughter? She will not have her father to spend this and many other Christmases with.
The whole incident is one in which no one wins. The hurtful truth is that we have Jermaine Alexander Mackey dead, police officers injured and a whole community in tears. All of this excruciating pain, sorrow and carnage could have easily been avoided had two police officers decided not to play God!
We are all aware of the criminal elements in our society that are causing havoc in our land. We are also aware that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is responsible for a good percentage of those in the obituaries. But on this fateful night of December 6th, 2002 a horror unimagined would shatter the cool drafty night in the close knitted community of St. James Road. When the dust is clear, December 6th, 2002 will leave behind a dead young man, extreme pain, agony and emotional scars that will take years to heal.
Like a nightmare that have haunted you for what seems like aeons, finally emerge and take shape. The fortunate thing about nightmares is that we can awake and find that it was only a dream. But this night for one Jermaine Mackey the nightmare and reality would become one and the same. An endless abyss from which he can never awake!
An endless nightmare made courtesy not by the normal harbingers of sorrow and pain, namely the Criminal Elements in our society, but by the sick and distorted minds of two police officers. Who to themselves had taken on the mantle to become judge, jury and executioner?
Jermaine is the offspring of a deeply religious and respected family of St. James Road. The Coopers have produced hard working and law-abiding citizens. This quiet and proud family is a bulwark to the St. James Road community. This night the Cooper family would have thrust upon them deep and everlasting pain. For this night- this curse night- they would see their grandchild, nephew, uncle, and brother - lay thrown on the ground like a discarded carcass. His bullet riddled body a few inches from the entrance of his father’s restaurant!
This night like many Friday nights, Jermaine, no doubt looked forward to going to the local Fish Fry - a place where he could hang out and chew the fat, maybe suck down a few suds in the warmth of family and friends. To ‘drop on his boys a vibe or two’ and complain of the ever increasing price of Junkanoo tickets. The normal talks as we approach the festive season. He only wanted to ‘chill out’ after a hectic week; others would soon put him on ice for good.
The irony of the ‘others’ is that these men were sworn to protect and preserve lives! These 'others' were commissioned police officers. This night these two police officers would become in substance what they were trained to capture and bring to Justice:Cold Blooded Murderers!!!
Jermaine like all mortals had his weakness and his strengths. For those of us who know him, he had more strength than weakness. If Jermaine had any enemies they were few. They were certainly not of the variety that would want to kill him.
Whatever Jermaine’s weakness was, it certainly didn’t warrant a death sentence. There will inevitably be a million tales to tell on what transpired on this fateful night of December 6th, 2002. Some will be more colorful than others. Through all the colorful and different dialects of Bahamian expressions, one obvious and undeniable fact will emerge. The police shot and killed a defenseless young man.
This is one murder that the police cannot hide or sweep under the rug. There simply were too many witnesses. One eyewitness, a family member of mine was a mere feet away! For the Police force this is certainly not a good night.
There are many decent and law abiding policemen on the force. I understand that in our land these are trying times for our law enforcement officers. My heart truly goes out for the honest cops who are trying their endeavor best to protect the citizenry.
The police’s job is certainly not an easy one. They must be both tough and sensitive, and strong and compassionate all at the same time. On the other hand the police force must be big enough to accept and quickly prosecute their own when they go against their sworn duties.
Robert Steinbeck, a columnist for the Miami Herald wrote in an article entitled, Police can’t demand the Public’s trust - they must earn it”, “It confuses, divides and angers the public when it appears as though cops are using the unique rules that apply only to them as a cloak to shield them from the consequences of errors in judgment or action”.
So in Jermaine’s senseless killing, justice must not only be done, it must be done swiftly. For the gaping wound to heal, Justice must roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Let us take this time to analyze the subsequent riot. What every critic must understand and not forget is that Jermaine’s death preceded the riot! The riot was a reaction to a senseless killing.
To fully understand what happened on the 6th of December 2002 we need to go back in time. Tensions between the police and the young men of Kemp Road have been building up for years. Jermaine’s death was the proverbial feather that broke the camel’s back.
Let us imagine for a moment the Physics involving volcanoes and earthquakes. Scientists tell us that earthquakes are the result of years of built up pressure that is suddenly released. This pressure is built up because two enormous landmasses move over each other.
The friction builds up heat and extreme pressure, eventually there will be a sudden “crack of fault” that allows this heat and pressure to escape, thus causing tremors and eventually destruction. The pressure in the Kemp Road community was built up because the police was allowed to get away with grave injustice and downright abuse over the years!
Nobody cared about the many complaints of police beatings, unwarranted searches and seizures, constant harassment on the street and outright public denigration of Kemp Roaders!
The prevailing mindset was, “Who gives a damn! They are a bunch of savages anyhow.” Well, if they didn’t give a damn on December 5, 2002, they sure began to take heed by December 7, 2002. The old premise still rings true today that “Justice denied one is justice denied all.”
It is a sad commentary in our land when an innocent young man must die for the powers that be, to listen!
Let the truth be told that the majority of persons who live in Kemp Road are decent and law abiding citizens who care about each other and the well being of this country. How do I know? Well as a popular Bahamian song goes, “Your born there, your born there,” I was born and raised in the heart of Kemp Road.
I was never arrested or charge in relations to any criminal offence.
If the truth were told I am not the exception, I am the rule. The greater percentage of Kemp Roadians can boast the same! So to stereotype Kemp Road because of a few misguided souls is tantamount to “Reckon the power of the ocean by the frailty of its foam,” “To judge us by the few rebel rousers “ is to cast blame upon the seasons for their in constancy”.
So the riot must not be looked at in part, but as a whole. Let me state here emphatically that I don’t condone violence, whether that violence came from the police or from the general public!
In conclusion, Jermaine’s death and the subsequent riot were indeed unfortunate. I am sorry for the police officers that were injured in the melee. I hope for their quick recovery.
While the police wounds will eventually heal, Jermaine Alexander Mackey will be gone forever. Every December 6, will bring pain and sorry to his mother and his entire family. who will replace the void that will be left in Janice Mackey’s heart, his ten-year-old daughter? She will not have her father to spend this and many other Christmases with.
The whole incident is one in which no one wins. The hurtful truth is that we have Jermaine Alexander Mackey dead, police officers injured and a whole community in tears. All of this excruciating pain, sorrow and carnage could have easily been avoided had two police officers decided not to play God!