Our taxi driver was antsy today. Didn't even pick up passengers at the regular bus stop. He went around the corner, then came back on foot to call us into the taxi.And when he drove off, he took all the backroads he knew, didn't once venture onto the standard route... The "Gang of Five" was on the road.
From what I gather, this is a group of five police bikers who frequently patrol the Town-Papine route: smart, seasoned veterans and every illegal (and many legal) taxi man's worst nightmare.
My driver ketch him fraid: suddenly remembered his outdated license, his unpaid insurance... even noticed that air was lacking on two of his car-tires. The man started to sweat... called all his taxi-friends to warn them that Gang of Five was patrolling the area.
He heard that they were on Old Hope Road, so he decided to drive on Mona Road. Then, he got another call: the Gang of Five was making its way to Mona Road.
My driver nearly died on spot. Ahead of us, we could see a couple cars parked by a gas station, right beside an intersection. There was no turn-off before the intersection, and no way to see who was around the corner... Our driver slowed to a crawl, craning his neck to see if the dreaded Gang of Five was around the corner, waiting to track him down and charge him for all the sins he now vividly recalled...
There was no Gang of Five around the corner. But even then our driver wasn't pacified. He kept saying how these guys were cunning, and could be waiting around any corner, on any main road...
I found it fascinating to watch a grown man nearly pass out from fear of a group of policemen. I thought it fantastic that police can still drive that level of fear into wrong-doers, (even if I did endorse his wrong-doing when I chose to take his taxi)... I sincerely hope he took the rest of the day off, though, cause even if Gang'o Five don't catch him, sheer terror alone goin' give him a heart attack!
18 comments:
LOL! I've seen them a couple times.
Can yu imagine w'en all a dem come gang up pon smaddy?
Hi Ruthibelle! Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Gang of 5 mek yuh driver weak!! Yuh shudda gi him some water and fan him, lol.
Gang of five sound like some real bad man.And your driver sound like a wimp!
Ruthibelle - I love your "voice"!
Poor driver! Maybe he should try to keep his papers in order, so he doesn't have to have heart failure during a regular day's work. Some of these drivers make a sport of not having their license etc. in order.
Wait! I have seen them as well, and I want to know why dem haf to travel in a pack?!? The imagery and the noise from those bikes is a way to terrorize everybody! The name itself is part of the mystique and drives the fear, because we know that "gangs" are not above using violence, and always back each other up. The message is nobody can survive against them. I feel the same way about those menacing security guards who whiz between lanes and wind in and out of traffic. I swear employment criteria at these security firms must include whether the applicants' actual skin color would match the uniforms and the helmets. What is THAT about?
A police biker gang...very interesting...Is this fear only limited to traffic offences, or other forms of crime that plagues Jamaica?
I hope that you gave the driver a big tip when you arrived at your destination (albeit late), just for his perseverance alone...tee hee...
@Long... the imagery and noise, name and all... works! It achieves its purpose. And then the fact that they're on bikes... wow! It drives the fear of god right into you! lol!
@Afro, we need some GangoFive-type policemen to work on crime and violence in our communities. It would probably help... though, upon close consideration, you notice that my driver was still on the road, fearful as he was-- braving the odds.
what annoys me about this is that the police don't show the same zeal in pursuing those menacing drivers who mow down pedestrians and children, the ones who bad drive you and speed up and down the island, the rapists, the murderers, the kidnappers...
but oh no what they seem to be good at is harrassing the petty offender, people like this hapless taxi driver, policing 'bad wud' is another area they excel at...
talk about misplaced priorities. but thanks for this Ruthi it reminds me that Herbert Gayle, a really good researcher on campus at uwi, said that in the ghetto communities the police are perceived as just another gang, a licensed gang...
gang of five? lol.
the driver should try abiding by the law if he doesnt want to experience all of that
annie, the land we live in... *sigh* Just saw on the news tonight that they're moving another policeman from the area he's been serving for years (MoBay) and placing him in new territory. Had me wondering why we always take the best officers outta the areas where they have maximum effect, and throw them into some other obscure department. Wouldn't it be better to let them stay where they are and continue to build on their own legacies?
JD, Long, I don't think I've ever seen this dreaded Go5, but I'm definitely on the look-out!
This Gang of Five sounds a bit too thuggish. the more i hear about this police department, i think someone has got to be trippin'!!!
although in America, no papers = GET YO ASS off the road! there wouldn't be a gang of five just the likeliness you'd lose your taxi license.
still the poor thing!
Hopefully,the GANG OF FIVE is operating within the context of the rule of law of the Jamaican state,by respecting the rights of citizens,as opposed to promulgating a behaviour and psychology reminiscent of jackboot and bullying enforcement tactics, and tacitly condoned by the state in its frustrated and non-successful attempts to stanch or check the ubiquitous and astronomical crime rates.ESTEBAN AGOSTO REID
"I found it fascinating to watch a grown man nearly pass out from fear of a group of policemen."
You must have never been to New York City.
Lucy, police sometimes hafta be tuff to deal with tuff guys. A very fine line between just enough and brute excess in the call of duty.
EAR, but you know that they're probably not 100% squeaky clean (really, which policeman is?). Begs the question of how far is too far in the quest to rid Jamaica of its crime woes...
Mike, you shoulda seen my taxi driver: sweating, sputtering and getting all worked up... it was truly funny! Never been to NY, btw
Amusing story. I guess that these are the bike cops answer to ACID. By the way, I wonder what Renato "Saddam" Adams up to nowadays?
That's hilarious! I don't feel so bad for dodging the police when my tags where bad haha. I'm happily legal now (minus the insurance. i have proof of insurance and that's all that counts)
Mad Bull, that's funny, cause Adams came to mind when I wrote that response to EAR
Jaz, there's no peace of mind like the one you get from having the assurance that you are unquestionably LEGIT!
"upon close consideration, you notice that my driver was still on the road, fearful as he was-- braving the odds"
thats the funniest part! after all that him still out there...
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