Assistant Superintendent of Police Dave Hyman displays an Intra-Tech-9 sub-machine gun seized during a July 2004 police operation in Lilliput, St James. - File

WESTERN BUREAU:

Assistant Superintendent of Police Dave Hyman, who was considered one of the rising stars of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has died.

The 42-year-old officer reportedly died at the University Hospital of the West Indies yesterday morning, three weeks after he was hospitalised for a cancer-related illness.

"He was a bright, intelligent, professional person and a team player," recalled his immediate supervisor, Superintendent Millicent Sproul-Thomas, head of the Kingston Central Police Division. "He was the operational officer for the division and we will remember him as always smiling, with his dark glasses on."

Overwhelmed with grief

Hyman, who also served in the St James Police Division, enlisted in the JCF in 2001 through the Graduate Entry Programme, reserved for persons (including police personnel) with a university degree.

His friend and colleague, Deputy Superintendent Dave Cameron, was overwhelmed with grief when he spoke to The Gleaner.

"It is a real loss for someone like Hyman to die so young. He was one of those persons who caught on to policing very quickly, having been someone who didn't come up through the ranks. He had a natural knack for the job," commented Cameron, who is also the assistant secretary general of the Police Officers' Association.

"He was very high-spirited and genuine, and that is why we were friends since he joined the JCF."

At the time of his death, Hyman resided in Montego Bay, St James, with his wife Shelly-Ann and daughter, Davia Faith.