announced plans to retire.

His intended departure was confirmed last night by Police spokeswoman Insp.

Roseanda Jones.

"He was well and truly eligible for retirement,'' she said.

She denied reports alleging his sudden retirement may be connected to a violent incident involving him and a member of the public at Hamilton Police Station last week.

Sgt. Hamlett, who worked on the Narcotics Squad, had a controversial tenure on the Force, having been brutally attacked by a gang of men in his Devil's Hole home in 1984.

The five men, who were later convicted of the attack, had busted into his home, beaten him with clubs and knives and left him laying on the floor in a pool of blood.