We have become used to protests after a police killing, so much so that it unfortunately has become ordinary for cries of 'justice' after a shoot-out in which alleged gunmen are killed.

There were, however, congratulations from the police high command instead of protests from the public for the actions of a police constable who was shot recently in Stony Hill, St. Andrew. And rightly so, as the policeman not only saved his colleague, who was more seriously wounded, but also took on the attackers, killing one and actually taking the car keys from the driver.

If that was not enough, he lifted the other wounded policeman, placed him in a car and drove two miles, until he could continue no further. Certainly no more could have been asked of him.

However, there is a concern which needs to be addressed, that of police personnel stopping motor vehicles in situations which lend themselves to attacks. In this incident it was just past midnight when it happened and, based on the fact that only the two wounded policemen were mentioned, only they were involved in the vehicle check. It is not unusual for roving patrol cars with two policemen aboard to pull over cars in the dead of night, or for a sole police unit and two lawmen to stage spot-checks at very late hours.

It is not the first time that policemen have been wounded in such a situation, and the nu-merical composition of spot-check teams needs to be maintained at a level which discourages aggres-sion from someone carrying an illegal firearm.