Drowning in Port Loyola
At news time tonight, the body of a man believed to have drowned earlier this afternoon in the sea off the Port Loyola area has still not been found. But he didn’t take a pleasure swim and have an accident; he was being chased by police. There are two sides to the story, with witnesses telling News Five that 24 year old Kelvin Barrow, had an argument with his girlfriend. They say her Stepfather, an off duty Police Officer, attacked him, chased him out of the house, across the street and a good distance into the sea.
Bob Maijhan, Eyewitness
“All I see that the man, the police ran through here, chase the man out to the sea. Bout fifteen minutes after a boat come, the boat come pick up the police. They were out a while the police and the man until the boat come from by the Port. When the boat come, they pick up the police and I assumed that they had picked up the man too and they went down to the Port. That’s what I see.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
And now you’re saying that the man is still out there?
Bob Maijhan
“Well some of our friends from here went to the Port to investigate. And when they get there, and when they get there, they say the boat get there without the man, so that means the man still out at sea.”
Voice of Eyewitness
“Now the thing about this is that they picked up the police man and after two little circles, they left. That’s wrong. They should have looked more or at least get in the water. It was four of them in the boat, at least two of them could have gotten in the boat and searched for him because it was shallow enough that those guys survived for so long.”
But the Police give a different version of events. Christy Castillo, Police Press Officer, told us tonight that the off duty Police Officer–they aren’t releasing his name–told the Mobile Unit Police Officers that Barrow was beating his stepdaughter and he stepped in to help. The officer admits he had a machete and Barrow had a knife but says no one was injured. Police say it was another, ON duty officer who chased Barrow into the sea. That officer says he never got close enough to Barrow but saw him go under the water. Police say when the Maritime Wing boat came up, they picked up the officer, circled a few times but didn’t see Barrow again and left to go get help. Barrow’s family isn’t buying that story. They say the off duty officer has made threats against Kelvin Barrow in the past.
Kemani Barrow
“I am not saying that my brother is a perfect person Janelle. I mean he had a restraining order before with his girlfriend right. And about two weeks ago, his girlfriend was right back home with him again. So I didn’t think they had any little thing until today. But he’s always chased by police. As a matter of fact, he has always threatened my brother to kill him. This is the stepfather that chopped him.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
What’s his name?
Kemani Barrow
“I am not sure about that. All I could remember is Mervin is his first name. But the last, I don’t know the last name.”
Clinton Barrow, Father
“He is going and he is going to get even with Kelvin. He tell me plain that he is going to kill Kelvin. He told me that.”
Janelle Chanona
The Police Officer told you…
Clinton Barrow
“Yes, the same Police Officer. I told him, if you think you bad, then you put a hand on him and then you will know how bad you bad. That’s what I told him.”
Dred, Area Resident
“If a man and his wife have a spouse abuse I don’t see why you have to chase that man way out there. You know that man have to come back. That’s the whole thing I’m saying. The brutality of the police, we want it to stop.
Christy Castillo says divers from the Port Authority and the Police Department are in the area looking for Barrow’s body. Up until news time, the body had not been recovered from the water. According to Castillo, both the Criminal Investigations Branch (C.I.B.) and Internal Affairs are involved in the case.
