Nehemiah Shaw, who was last Tuesday slapped with a $4,000 fine for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, claimed in court that he was strangled by District Constable Jason McKay during a 2008 incident on Derby Day at Caymanas Park.

Shaw, who was a member of dancehall artiste Mavado's entourage, was fined $4,000 or 30 days in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court. This follows his 2008 conviction for assaulting and wounding McKay.

unaware

In his defence, Shaw, who had pleaded guilty to having struck the district constable from behind, said he was unaware that McKay was a policeman trying to quell what turned out to be a violent fracas between the entourage and patrons.

He added that after hitting McKay, he was strangled by the district constable and placed in a headlock for almost 25 minutes.

chaos broke out

McKay, a martial arts practitioner and long-standing security figure at Caymanas Park, defended his actions, saying chaos had broken out after a policeman attempting to disarm a member of the entourage of a knife was attacked.

He said he had rushed in to provide assistance when he was struck from behind by Shaw.

The incident, which happened in the official car park following the derby after-party at which Mavado had performed, lasted approximately 30 minutes.