A policeman was chopped in the head and a man injured in Half-Way Tree, Kingston 10, last night.

The dead man, who is believed to be of unsound mind, is yet to be identified.

About 6 p.m., the officer was on duty along Hagley Park Road near Maxfield Avenue when he noticed a man with a bulge in his waist. Upon looking in the direction of the officer, the man reportedly began acting in a strange manner. The policeman and his colleagues accosted the man, who then pulled a machete and chopped the officer in the head. He fell to the ground.

The man was reportedly about to attack again when he was shot by the other policemen. He died while being treated at the Kingston Public Hospital.

The policeman, who is attached to the Mobile Reserve, has been admitted to hospital and is in a serious but stable condition.