Superintendent Derrick Knight points to the scar on his leg which was caused by a bullet during a shoot-out with gunmen during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

Just mention the word hurricane within earshot of Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight and he would readily offer to relate his horrifying experience during the passage of Hurricane Ivan, which lashed the country five years ago.

Knight was among a party of five policemen responding to emergency calls in downtown Kingston on September 11, 2004. Their mission: To assist persons who had been left stranded in the flooded streets and prevent criminals from looting the commercial district.

"Shortly after leaving the Denham Town Police Station, we came in contact with about 10 men armed with high-powered rifles near the intersection of Orange and Tower streets. They were all dressed in black rain cloaks, similar to what the police were wearing. At first, we thought they were police, but as we got closer, we recognised that some of the guns were AK-47 rifles," said Knight, who, at the time, was the crime officer for the West Kingston Police Division.

These rifles are among a list of firearms that were not issued in the Jamaica Constabulary Force or permitted to be used by licensed firearm holders.

Intense gunfight

Like a script from a wild west movie, the senior officer explained how he and his team had to abandon their service vehicle, then position themselves in the flooded streets to battle the gunmen, who, they suspected, were either on their way to loot or invade a neighbouring community.

"The shoot-out lasted for about 30 minutes, during which we called Police Control for help; but nobody was able to respond on a timely basis. Because of the hurricane conditions, most of the roads were blocked with debris. At one stage, we began running low on ammunition," the officer said.

The group of gunmen was later joined by an additional 15 men with rifles and together, they attempted to form a ring around the five policemen in an intense gunfight.

"I remember feeling something powerful strike my leg. That was when I realised that I was hit by (a bullet from) an AK-47 rifle," Knight told The Gleaner.

It took some time before assistance came, and when it did, the officer was rushed to the nearby Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).

"When I got to KPH, there was no electricity. I had to wait for several hours. We did not have an option, because the rain was pouring and the streets were impassable," the front-line crime fighter said.

After waiting for hours, his long-time friend and colleague, Superintendent Cornwall 'Bigga' Ford, and a small team, decided to brave the weather and escorted him to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). By then, his two doctor friends, Jephtah and Japheth Ford, had made their way to the hospital to assist the wounded officer.

On arrival at the UHWI, the doctors began working on his leg. Then rumours began spreading like wild fire that he was going to lose his leg.

"When I heard this, the faces of all the policemen who had been shot and paralysed or lost a leg flashed before my eyes," the sturdily built son of St Mary said.

He left the hospital with a prescription, that he was unable to fill, because all the pharmacies were closed.

Ugly scar

"I went back to the Denham Town Police Station, where I slept for the night. The following day, I had to rush back to the hospital because my leg had got infected and began smelling. Gangrene had set in," the superintendent said.

With the intervention of former police commissioner Francis Forbes and his deputy, Tilford Johnson, emergency surgery was done at the UHWI.

The doctors were able to save Knight's leg. The ugly scar on his left leg reminds him every day of the experience.