SHOCKER

POLICE Commissioner Owen Ellington’s deci­sion to retire sent shock­waves across the island yes­ter­day. But none were more sur­prised than his top rank­ing offi­cers with whom he had his week­ly Monday morn­ing Executive Management Board

(EMB) meet­ing with­out utter­ing a word about his plan.

It was after the EMB meet­ing that Ellington met with his deputy com­mis­sion­ers — Glenmore Hinds (Operations); Carl Williams (Crime); Delworth Heath (Inspector General); Clifford Blake (Administration) and James Golding, the for­mer Commandant of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) who became a deputy com­mis­sion­er after the recent merg­er of the ISCF and the JCF — and informed them of his decision.

Yesterday, the nation­al secu­ri­ty min­istry said Ellington indi­cat­ed that he would retire from his post on com­ple­tion of his vaca­tion leave which starts today.

“Commissioner Ellington has indi­cat­ed that his deci­sion to retire is based on the need to sep­a­rate him­self from the lead­er­ship and man­age­ment of the force pri­or to the com­mence­ment of the upcom­ing Commission of Enquiry into the con­duct of the oper­a­tions of the secu­ri­ty forces in Western Kingston and oth­er areas dur­ing the lim­it­ed State of Emergency in 2010,” the min­istry said in a news release.

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