Petty disputes over things “as insignificant as a spilled drink” are turning into fatal acts of violence, according to a top police officer.Assistant Commissioner David Mirfield believes mediation between warring gangs could stop such minor incidents from escalating.He outlined his views after a series of court cases where juries heard about small disagreements ending up with men injured or dead.Dwayne Signor is serving a ten-year sentence for shooting teenager Shawn Williams during a brawl at a reggae party on Easter Sunday 2010.His trial heard he grabbed a gun because it was being pointed at his knees during a bar fight, and pulled the trigger in a panic after shadowy figures pursued him into a darkened room. One witness involved in the fight said it began over “bumped shoulders” in the RAA Club in St George’s. Mr Signor insisted that he never meant to hurt anyone.In another recent case, Alvone Maybury of the 42 gang fired at rivals from Parkside on Reid Street in Hamilton after talks between the rival factions degenerated into a scuffle outside the Captain’s Lounge bar.“It was like a little bit of arguing, a little bit of shoving,” according to an innocent bystander, who saw a bullet fly past him just seconds later.Maybury was jailed for 13 and a half years. In the most recent case, 42 gang member Kumi Harford is said to have been murdered because another 42 man insulted a Middletown gang member’s mother by throwing a drink at her at the Devonshire Recreation Club.Mr Harford’s killer, Antonio Myers, was dating the woman’s niece at the time. He was convicted of murder on Monday and is facing a life sentence.Mr Mirfield told The Royal Gazette: “It is a sad reality that often the gang related violence that we see in Bermuda, like other jurisdictions, will often stem from a petty dispute; this can be as insignificant as a spilled drink, some form of ‘disrespect’ that can be seen as a challenge, and the need to respond is often spurred by peer pressure to act.“That is why often some form of mediation can take the heat out of these situations. This does not necessarily need to be on a professional level and can often come in the form of other family members, or people who are respected within the community taking the time to defuse a potential violent outcome.”Mr Mirfield successfully used mediation as one of the tactics to quell gang violence in the West Midlands area of England, where he used to be a Chief Superintendent. “We cannot continue to witness such random violent acts that have such a destabilising effect on our communities over what can seem some petty issues,” he said.However, a reformed gang affiliate who shared his views with this newspaper yesterday [see separate story] cast doubt on the idea. “It won’t work. We were at the point for mediation probably three years ago but now it’s got to the point where these guys don’t care any more,” he said.