Tempers flare as cops raid Pine

LAWMEN?AND?Residents came to high words in Regent Hill, The Pine, St Michael, yesterday after three vehicles packed with Task Force officers carried out a raid about 3 p.m.
Last night police public relations officer Inspector David Welch reported that as a result of the operation, one man, Tennyson Omar Bancroft, of Factory Avenue, Wildey, was charged with obstructing, resisting and assaulting police officers.But the matter has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some residents.
A SUNDAY SUN team watched as fully armed officers and residents became embroiled in heated verbal exchanges over the officers’ handling of some men who were “liming on the block”.
Some residents – who wished to remain anonymous – said they had no difficulty with police performing their duties, but added that the manner in which they did upset them.
“The way they move and handle people is not right. Just because they are police does not give them the right to treat people this way,” lamented a young man.
“About three officers just held a man by his locks and shoved him into the police van head first. All the time this man was struggling to get out. He kept asking the officer what it was he did, but they kept pushing him in the van. 
“It was cruel what they did,” added a 14-year-old girl.
“We do not have a problem with police doing their jobs, but is this the right way?” another bystander asked.
Earlier this year, when the Task Force carried out a routine search in the area, they came away with three firearms, a bullet-proof vest, ski mask and a quantity of marijuana. (CSH)