Dressed in black and armed with assault rifles, the elite police squad commanded by a flamboyant officer nicknamed “Saddam” took to the streets three years ago to combat Jamaica’s violent drug gangs. On Monday, the eight-officer unit closes up shop amid widespread charges that it trampled civil rights and killed innocent people. “They go out … to be judge, jury and executioner,” Carolyn Gomes of Jamaicans for Justice said. “They seem to believe when someone becomes a suspect that they lose their rights.” The Crime Management Unit has been involved in at least 40 killings since Prime Minister P.J. Patterson set it up in 2000, according to human rights groups and published reports. In the most recent incident, officers shot four people to death during a house raid May 7. Among those killed was a woman who died as her 8-year-old daughter watched. Police officials insist the disbanding of the squad had nothing to do with the complaints against it. The change is one part of an effort to modernize the force, they said last week. Full Story
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