Vybz Kartel Puts Jamaican Police On Blast For Mistreating An Elderly Man
Feeling like a victim of the Jamaican judicial system, incarcerated dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel has yet again put the police on blast for roughing up an elderly man in what appears to be the parking lot of a district plaza.
The video showed three armed officers of the Jamaica constabulary force tackling and using extreme force to detain an older Rastafarian gentleman.
It’s unclear what caused the altercation but bystanders could be heard shouting, “why uno a beat up di man fah?” and as one officer pulled out a baton, another onlooker began yelling, “Eh bwoy weh yuh a do?” while others loudly quarreled in open protest to the way the officers were handling the old man.
Kartel captioned the video, “When Kanye said ‘slavery was a choice’ everybody got mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……..except me. Watch dem big waste bwoy ya…..”
The comment with the accompanying video triggered a relentless feed of angered reaction from his fans for several reasons. The imagery in itself is quite disturbing and it also displays the longstanding issue of police brutality against everyday people in the streets and especially those in the inner-city areas.
The injustice and public murder of George Floyd and more recently Rayshard Brooks by the hands of police authorities abusing their power has affected one of the most fired up responses from angered civilians in the US via massive and violent protests along with forceful looting.
The video posted by the ever-controversial deejay, Vybz Kartel also highlights the sad reality that exploitations of this nature are a global problem and not just something that happens to minorities living abroad.
Even behind bars, he has taken numerous opportunities to speak out about these and other related crises on social media as well as in his music.
It was just two weeks ago that he made a public call for justice on Instagram for Jodian Fearon, the young mother that passed away from heart complications during pregnancy when she was denied health services by several hospitals in Kinston.
Kartel posted a screenshot of the GoFundMe page that is set up for Jodian’s baby daughter and in efforts of reminding the people of Jamaica that they too are facing discrimination and injustices at home, captioned: “RIP #georgefloyd and to my Jamaicans, remember our local injustices as well. #lestweforget #justiceforjodian.”
His recent singles About Us and Vampire are heavily versed in the fight against injustice dished out by the ‘system’ (i.e. the Jamaican government and law enforces).
The deejay posted a series of videos to promote the About Us track highlighting several acts of police cruelty towards civilians, similar to the one featuring with the elderly Rastaman.
The deejay posted another video to his Instagram today, showing a Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) officer destroying a handcart with a sledgehammer that was evidently carrying produce.
He captioned the same statement, “When Kanye said ‘slavery was a choice’ everybody got mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……..except me. #itskartelsfault.”
Again the debates are in full swing, while many are quick to judge the officers for what clearly looks like injustice and callous treatment towards poor people, others argue that they had to be an initial issue to provoke the matter.
Similar to the elderly man being accosted by the three officers, some persons were of the opinion that had he not resisted being detained, it would not have escalated the matter for them to use such force.