SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth - A massive police operation in Slipe, south west St Elizabeth yesterday led to the arrests of at least five men and the detention of several others for questioning.

Police say that one of the five arrests, that of 23 year-old Damion Foster for malicious destruction of property, was directly related to damage done to three police cars on January 5 in Slipe, during a riot that followed the pre-dawn police killing of 23 year-old Roger Banton.

The riot left seven people injured, including a 25 year-old woman, Barbara Barrett, who was shot in the right breast and upper arm, a TVJ cameraman, Rodney Longmore who was badly beaten by a mob and five policemen who were hit by stones.

Longmore's camera worth $450,000 was destroyed by furious residents who appeared to believe he was somehow connected to the police operation. His car was also badly damaged.

Police say Banton, who was wanted for questioning in relation to murder, was shot after he pointed a gun at them. Residents of Slipe reject the police report claiming he was "killed innocently".

Banton's relatives are seeking to have an independent pathologist witness the post mortem.

In yesterday's "incident-free" police operation, which started at 3:00 am and lasted until 9:30 am, police also arrested four men for possession and dealing in ganja. They are Gary Williams, 35, Latalon Dunkley, 44, John Warren, 22 and Glenroy Blake, 45.

Eight others were also detained for questioning in the operation led by the police chief for St Elizabeth, Superintendent Fitzgerald Barrett, involving 106 police personnel from the Mobile Reserve, Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth. Twenty homes in Slipe were searched in the operation.

The police said last night that "several" of those who were detained for questioning had been released, but a "few" were still being "processed".

Barrett suggested recently that his investigators were close to making arrests in relation to the assault on Longmore, who is nursing a broken ankle and will be unable to work for two months.

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