THE pews of the Highgate Gospel Assembly in St Mary overflowed with mourners who had turned out to pay tribute for the life of slain policeman Corporal Alphanso Bonnetto Gossop two Saturdays ago.
Gossop was attacked and shot close to his home on Sunrise Crescent in St Andrew earlier this month.His alleged attackers were quickly nabbed by alert cops and have been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm.Gossop was described as a career cop who dedicated his life to the service of his country yet his life was senselessly snuffed out by scoundrels hell-bent on wreaking havoc on the society.As the casket bearing his remains lay draped in the national flag his colleagues and relatives paid tribute to the native son who gave his all to national development during his tenure on earth.Clearly shaken by his colleague’s brutal demise, head of the Police Federation, Sergeant Raymond Wilson, called for all well-thinking Jamaicans to take a stand against crime.“Today is no doubt a sad day. Gossop was a committed public servant, a patriot who was brutally murdered in broad daylight. Men of these atypical personas are few and hard to come by. As a people we must be committed and stand up. The police need your help to battle these reprobates who walk the streets,” Wilson said.Gossop spent 18 years as the bodyguard of Denise Eldemire-Shearer, the widow of former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer.Eldemire-Shearer was tearful as she paid tribute to a man who had grown to become part of her family.“When I got that call I cried for Gossop. I cried for my country. He protected me since 1998,” she said.Gossop who was 55 at the time of his death was born in Orange River, St Mary. He was the fifth of six children born to Clarice Vernon and Hubert Gossop.In 1977 he enlisted in the constabulary and was trained at the Port Royal Police Academy. His first assignment was at the Kingston Central Police Division. By 1981 he was transferred to the Protective Services Division where he served as the close protective officer to government minister Dr Kenneth BaughGossop was again transferred to the Kingston Central Police Division and also did a stint at the motorised patrol before he returned to the fold of the Protective Services Division.He was promoted to Corporal in 1999, a rank he held until the time of his untimely passing.Head of the Protective Services Division Superintendent Barrington Simpson, who delivered the eulogy, described Gossop as a cop with the right attitude.“If there was a perfect policeman then he could be described as such. He had the right attitude, discipline and deportment. He was gentle and caring although he could be stubborn at times,” Simpson said.Gossop’s nephew, Andrew Gossop, who is also a member of the constabulary, so called for Jamaicans to bell the crime cat.“Please help the police in the fight against crime. You don’t know whom the guns are going to be turned on next,” he said.Tributes were also offered by Gossop’s daughter Monique who read a poem and his colleague from the Protective Services Division Sergeant Andrea Campbell who belted out a heart- rending rendition of the hymn Oh What A Sunrise.Corporal Alphanso Bonnetto Gossop is survived by his wife Levene, eight children, five siblings, his family in the constabulary and a host of other relatives and friends. His remains were interred in the Marlborough Cemetery in St Mary.The late Corporal Alphanso Gossop.Gossop’s wife Levene holds their daughter Aleah close to her during the Thanksgiving Service.Jamaica Labour Party Chairman Bobby Montague comforts Denise Eldemire-Shearer as she cries for her late bodyguard.A section of the congregation of mourners who turned out to say their final farewell to Corporal Alphanso Gossop.Head of the Protective Services Division Superintendent Barrington Simpson delivers the eulogy.The police guard carries the casket bearing the remains of Corporal Alphanso Gossop. (PHOTOS: MICHAEL GORDON)Gossop’s daughter Monique is a picture of emotion as she reads a poem.View the original article here
Slain cop remembered as the perfect policeman
