Ex cop says all 'hell bruck loose' when he revealed identity to 'City Puss'
over 3 years in Jamaica Observer
A retired inspector of police, who was the only witness capable of formally identifying City Puss/Lucifer, five months into the trial of 33 accused members of the Klansman Gang on Wednesday, described how he had to disassociate himself from the police stationed in Spanish Town in order to gain the trust of those being extorted by the alleged gangster.City Puss O/C Lucifer, who was finally pointed out as the accused Jason Brown, has been behind bars since 2012, however, in telephones recordings played into the records of the court earlier he has been heard describing how, using his self-assigned moniker 'Lucifer', he extorted residents of St Catherine and drove fear into their hearts.This fear is what the former lawman said he had to overcome in order to get individuals to share the voice notes and open phone lines so he could hear when Brown and others made demands."Between 2017/18 I had been getting several reports about extortion voice notes circulating in the Spanish Town area from residents on the streets who were so fearful to make the report at the station," the former policeman told the court on Wednesday."Talking to these individuals they were afraid to come to the station to make a report because they claimed that the police were corrupt and [in collusion] with the gangsters," the witness said.He said having seen how deep the distrust went he decided to disassociate himself from the local station by telling the residents that he was not from the station but was from the PIU (Proactive Investigation Unit) on Martin Street in the old capital. He said in doing this he gained the trust of individuals who gave him information."They would put their phones on speaker and let me listen," the former policeman testified. He said the voice notes he heard, however, were all from one male who identified himself as "City Puss"."The voice I hear have this hoarse bass tone and comes across as aggressive. The person always issues threats and uses a lot of expletives like, for example, 'if yuh don't pay up mi money yuh ago dead, wi know weh yuh family live'," the former lawman said.He said the voice would always refer to some murder of a recent victim within the environs or make reference to business places which were torched."Most of the times he would invite the person and make the report and he would tell them if they go down there they have their link by the station and knows who goes to report," the court heard.He said after listening to the contents, he would encourage the individuals to give statements but said "the fear exerted upon them plus the fact that the person said they have their contact by the police station made it almost impossible to get a statement from these persons"."Because the persons are so fearful, for example, if they said they want $100,000 per week persons would negotiate, the male voice was demanding," he said.He said after hearing the voice notes he acted and called the accused Stephanie Christie, alias Mumma, with whom he had struck up a relationship, in telling her that her life was in danger based on intelligence. He wheedled out of her details about the mysterious City Puss."I asked her what she knew about him, she said he was a convict at Horizon Remand, I asked her if she knows his name and she said yes, Jason Brown," he said adding that he told Christie that herself and her then spouse, the accused Fabian Johnson, O/C Crocs, were in danger and that he believed she should leave Spanish Town.In making the necessary arrangements to see Brown, he said he also arrested several gang members, one of whom was being questioned when Brown called. He said when the suspect asked if he could answer his phone, he instructed him to do so but to open the line, when he did the words 'a City man, a City, waah gwaan,' came through.He said upon visiting Horizon Remand Centre to charge Brown he was dressed in regular clothing not wanting to look like an officer. He said he greeted the accused with a "yow City, a yuh dis man, bredda a long time mi nuh si yuh" and proceeded to chat to him with a degree of familiarity with enough details thrown in from intelligence gathered to put him at ease. After an hour of talk in which he ascertained this was the owner of the same voice making the threats, he unveiled himself as a police officer."All hell bruck loose, bad words, and all kinda badniss, the extorting voice was on full show, angry, trying to exert fear and dominance and I just stood there looking at him. I charged him for being part of a criminal organisation, extortion, several breaches of the anti-gang legislation," the former inspector who went on to pick Brown from the docks said.Wednesday Brown, who was in the second of the two court rooms being used for the trial, sat erect, sporting a new haircut, looking alert and fresh-faced as against other times when he would sit, shoulders slouching, face turned away for the most part seemingly aged. The man, who claims to have served under two administrations of the gang, was heard on a recording played for the court recently swearing allegiance to the current alleged leader Andre "Blackman" Bryan despite being behind bars for a murder he claimed to have carried out at the behest of Donovan "Bulbie" Bennet, a former don of the now split gang.The former policeman will continue his testimony when the trial resumes on Monday at 10.