Mother of deceased police training recruit complains about neglect
THE MOTHER of 19-year-old police trainee Rayandre Pike, who drowned in July last year while trying to rescue his colleague, says no senior officer from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has reached out to her since the incident.
“All I get is pure runaround when I try to find out from the JCF what financial benefits and entitlements are owing to my son,” Ivalyn Taylor told The Gleaner last week amid tears.
Pike is reported to have drowned in July last year as he attempted to assist a colleague who got into difficulty while swimming at the JCF’s Tranquility Bay training facility at Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth.
Pike, who is from Linstead, St Catherine, was part of Batch 150, which started their training with the JCF in March 2023.
According to the police, the deceased, along with fellow recruits, ventured to a section of the beach to alleviate muscle fatigue following a physical training session. He lost his life in attempting to aid a fellow recruit who had got into difficulty in the water.
Taylor referred to the numerous times since September last year that she tried to get documents and information from the JCF, but she said her requests have been ignored. She said she was forced to engage the services of an attorney-at-law last year, but so far, there has been no response to the letter her attorney wrote to the JCF in last October.
“My son gave his life to save his colleague, and it seems the matter is being treated lightly by the senior police officers. My son was looking forward to serving his country because he wanted no other career but to be a policeman, ”she said. “He was always talking about what he would do to improve the morale of the force as he tried to serve and protect, and no one could change his mind from joining the police force.”
Taylor said she was “still grieving for my son and what I am feeling is frustration and anger” at the treatment being meted out to her by the JCF.
‘My son was a runner, not a swimmer, and sometimes I do wonder how he got out in that depth of water to save someone,” she queried.
WHY THIS TREATMENT?
She said someone referred to her son’s quick response as a heroic deed “so if my son died as a hero, why is the JCF treating me so terrible?” she lamented.
Attorney-at-law Michael Thomas-Shorter said yesterday that he is representing Taylor.
He said he wrote to Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Merrick Watson at the Jamaica Police Academy, Twickenham Park, St Catherine, on October 30, 2023. A copy of the letter was also sent to Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson. However, Thomas-Shorter said yesterday that so far he had not received a response.
The letter states that Taylor has “sought our services due to perceived uncooperative behaviour from some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force who she needs to interact with in relation to the entitlement she is owed following her son’s untimely death”.
A request was also made for certain documents to be given to Taylor.
“I am just hoping that this issue can be resolved quickly so I can have some peace and quiet in my life because right now, I am undergoing a lot of stress over the death of my son and the treatment by the JCF,” she remarked.