Shane Clarke, also known as “Giant”, was fatally shot during an alleged exchange of gunfire with police in Old Harbour, St Catherine, on Tuesday evening, bringing renewed attention to years of claims he made publicly about being targeted by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The incident happened at approximately 6:45 p.m. along Bowers Drive in the Colbeck area of Old Harbour.
According to the police account, officers received information that men travelling in a white Mercedes-Benz GLE, registered 4004 MD, were heading to Kingston to collect firearms before travelling back to Old Harbour.
Police said they located the vehicle along Bowers Drive and signalled the occupant to stop. The occupant allegedly opened fire before speeding away, prompting a pursuit.
The police said the vehicle stopped a short distance away and that when officers exited their service vehicle and approached the Mercedes-Benz, the occupant allegedly opened fire again.
Officers reportedly returned fire, which police described as an act of self-defence. The driver then reportedly drove away before crashing into an embankment, overturning the Mercedes-Benz.
Clarke was taken by police to May Pen Hospital in Clarendon, where he was pronounced dead.
Two Firearms Reportedly Recovered
Police reported recovering two firearms from the scene, including a black AK-47 rifle fitted with an empty magazine and a black-and-silver .380 pistol with one round in its magazine. The serial numbers on both weapons were reportedly not visible.
No member of the police team was reported injured.
Police sources have also linked Clarke to several major crimes, including robberies involving Beryllium security teams. He was reportedly 27 years old and from Berrydale in Porus, Manchester.
Clarke Had Previously Accused Police of Targeting Him
While the police have presented Clarke as a suspected major criminal who engaged officers in a gunfight, Clarke himself had spent years publicly alleging that some members of the JCF were targeting him and wanted him dead.
In voice notes and videos he released publicly, Clarke alleged that corrupt police officers had repeatedly pursued him and that he feared being killed by members of the Force.
One of the videos he reportedly recorded from inside his vehicle showed what he described as a police pursuit involving three private motor vehicles. Clarke alleged that men in the vehicles were police officers attempting to catch him.
According to Clarke’s account, he eventually drove to a police station because he believed remaining inside the station was safer than continuing to drive. He alleged that the men followed him there and that police told him he could be charged for reckless driving.
Clarke said he responded that officers could lock him up and charge him with whatever offence they wanted because he would be safer in jail, but that he was not leaving the station because he feared for his life.
Claims of Demands for Money
In other videos and voice notes, Clarke made further allegations against members of the police, claiming that officers had beaten and interrogated people close to him while asking them about his whereabouts.
Clarke alleged that when officers encountered him, some of them demanded money from him and that he paid because he believed doing so was necessary to remain alive.
He claimed the alleged demands eventually increased into millions of Jamaican dollars, including alleged demands of $5 million and later $10 million.
Those claims were made by Clarke himself and have not been independently established by Radamm. They also do not form part of the police account of Tuesday’s shooting that has been publicly reported.
Final Moments Caught on Video
Footage circulating following the shooting shows the white Mercedes-Benz GLE overturned and surrounded by police officers at the scene.
The vehicle has attracted particular attention because Clarke had reportedly only recently acquired the Mercedes-Benz, making the images of the new vehicle overturned on Bowers Drive a striking part of the aftermath.
However, the footage alone does not establish what happened immediately before the shooting or whether the police account and Clarke’s previous allegations can be reconciled.
The police investigation into the fatal shooting is continuing.
Clarke’s death therefore leaves two very different accounts surrounding the same man. Police say they confronted a suspected major criminal who opened fire on officers, while Clarke had spent years publicly insisting that corrupt members of the Force were pursuing him and trying to take his life.
With Clarke now dead, the evidence surrounding the shooting, including the recovered firearms, available video footage and any independent investigation into the circumstances, will be important in establishing what happened on Bowers Drive.
