Cop arrested for allegedly taking bribe

A well-placed source at the Hunts Bay Police Station has detailed how members of the police's Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau (IPROB) set up a sting operation to arrest a police corporal on Saturday afternoon after he had been on their radar for sometime for an alleged breach of the Anti-Corruption Act.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told THE STAR that the corporal, who had recently been reassigned from the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, complied with the arresting officer's request for a search before he handed over a marked $5,000 note.

"He was in his uniform along the roadway when it occurred ... It happened about 12:05 p.m. He and two other constables went on the road in the vicinity of New Haven," the source said.

The source added that prior to the operation, complaints were made at the station about the corporal's misdemeanours.

"The complaints were coming in more and more. Arrangements were made with one of the complainants and marked monies were given to the complainant, who was given specific instructions," the cop said. The arrest took place when the suspect signalled a motor vehicle, in which the complainant was driving, to stop along the roadway just above the bridge that intersects Spanish Town Road and Washington Boulevard. The cop allegedly took a bribe from the complainant with the marked monies. Members of IPROB then moved in.

Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, commanding officer for the St Andrew South Police Division, told The Sunday Gleaner that the corporal was apprehended by other police personnel "around allegations of corruption" and that he had not "been fully briefed" on the matter.

However, information obtained by THE STAR indicates that the officer was immediately placed in custody at the Grants Pen Police Station after he was interviewed.