23.JAN.09

Editor: Having reached to work in London very early on Tuesday morning, I decided to catch up on some personal time before my colleagues arrived. Wanting to check up on news in the Caribbean, I logged on to the Jamaica Gleaner on-line publication for that day.{{more}}

Imagine my shock when I looked at the headlines and the photograph staring back at me. The headline read “High Ranking Cop Dies.” I knew the face in the photograph, and with a heavy heart, I read the caption. Dave Hyman was dead at 42 years old, after being ill and hospitalised. He was an Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Dave Hyman lived in St Vincent and the Grenadines with his Vincentian wife and children before returning to Jamaica. Along with some of my other friends and colleagues, we pursued the Certificate in Business Administration course via the UWI Distance Learning Programme in the early 1990s. Dave was an occasional part of our boisterous study group which would meet on the evenings or on weekends at the UWI Centre to share ideas and study for exams, etc.

He was always a very pleasant person, keen to share information and sometimes not giving us a chance to respond – he must have the last word. He was one that sought out new opportunities, which sometimes though they were not successful, he was still cheerful, and hardly a bad situation got him down. He also enlightened us about life in Jamaica and how to cook ackee and saltfish – never ashamed to boast about his strong Jamaican heritage.

Not realising that he had left St Vincent and the Grenadines, I was pleasantly surprised to meet him on the UWI Mona Campus years later during the late 1990s where, like myself, he was pursing the undergraduate programme. We met up on at least two occasions to reminisce on old times in SVG and for study purposes and talk about what we both wanted out of our lives. He wanted to be a police – even if he knew the clear and present danger of this occupation in modern day Jamaica. He thought he could make a difference, and according to his police colleagues, he did make a difference for someone who did not come through the ranks of the Police Force. He was bright, intelligent and very professional and had a knack for the job.

We graduated in our respected fields, and, sadly, after campus life we did not stay in touch.

Dave would surely be missed, and my condolences to his relatives and friends. He would always be remembered for not only his quick wittedness, but his ability to take very bold steps in getting things done.

Rest in Peace, Dave.

Jacqui Tannis Riley