Policeman’s bond with son broken by heartbreaking crash
Constable Renaldo Spence had a strong bond with his twoyear-old son, Kijani. Despite his duties as a traffic cop, the 29-year-old policeman never missed a day without calling his boy, demonstrating his unwavering love.
This affection was palpably showcased yesterday when Spence’s commonlaw partner, Atavia, showed the child a photograph of his father. It elicited a radiant smile from the toddler who joyfully exclaimed, “Daddy!”
In her last communication with Spence on Tuesday night, Atavia sent him a photo of their son in bed sleeping. He responded to the message with three heart emojis. The young policeman then posed the photo of his sleeping child on his WhatApp story and captioned it “Rhytmic beats from the heart”.
Sadly, the bond between father and child was broken in a most heart-rending manner yesterday as Spence died as a result of injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle collision on the Gutters main road in Old Harbour, St Catherine. The police said that about 1:18 a.m., Spence was driving a Honda motorcycle towards Old Harbour, when his vehicle hit a dog. This resulted in him losing control of the motorcycle and colliding with a Toyota
Corolla Fielder. He was pronounced dead at hospital.
Atavia, who was looking forward to spending Valentine’s Day with the love of her life, finds herself grappling with an unfathomable reality in the wake of the tragedy.
Struggling to hold back tears, Atavia solemnly vowed, “I will never forget today, and I will never forget Renaldo. I will grow our son the best way mi can and mi nah leave him go nuh weh.”
Garnet Spence, grieving the loss of his son Renaldo, is not only navigating his own sorrow but also deeply troubled for the well-being of the rest of the family. They are now faced with the distressing reality of videos and images depicting Renaldo’s final moments being circulated on social media.
“It was even upsetting because they don’t understand videos like that, you don’t send them out because you are hurting the family,” the elder Spence said.
He described his son as a jovial and promising young man who loved his family and was dedicated to his job.
“He’s a person who feel like there’s no limit and always climb higher. He’s that type of person, and he’s very respectable,” Garnet Spence said.
The Police High Command yesterday said it is saddened by the death of Constable Spence and expressed condolences to his family, friends and colleagues in the St Catherine North Division where he was stationed. Many of those cops were tearyeyed and glum-faced yesterday as they gather at his residence, struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss.
“I don’t know him six months now cause him just come a traffic a St Catherine North, but the impact the youth make as a person mek tears come a mi eye,” said a cop who he tried to hide his swollen eyes behind dark shades.