Public pressure

The public defender has demanded that police make body-worn cameras mandatory in all operations, joining rights groups in calling for urgent reforms after the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Jahmar Farquharson.

“We firmly support and recommend that body-worn cameras must be made mandatory for all planned operations, ensuring that both citizens and officers are protected by a clear record of events,” the office said, with ‘must’ in bold, in a statement to The Gleaner yesterday.

“The OPD remains committed to advocating systemic change, monitoring human-rights developments, and supporting legislative and policy measures that enhance accountability, transparency, and respect for constitutional rights,” it added.

The public defender is Carolyn Reid-Cameron, King’s Counsel.

The Police Commissioner Kevin Blake-led Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has not publicly commented on the incident nor the renewed calls for body-worn cameras after the incident that has drawn public outrage.

A video circulating online shows Farquharson opening a door and then putting his hands above his head as police personnel enter the house at Cherry Tree Lane in Four Paths, Clarendon, on September 15.

The police claim Farquharson was shot after he pulled a weapon on the team, disclosed Hamish Campbell, deputy commissioner at the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), the state body that investigates shootings by the security forces as well as citizens’ claims of abuse.

According to Campbell, the police said Farquharson answered the door, allowed officers inside, and was escorted back to his bedroom after the house was cleared.

There, they allege, he reached for a firearm hidden among clothing.

Two of the 23 police personnel involved in the operation reportedly fired two rounds each, fatally wounding him.

Campbell said a .38 revolver was said to have been recovered at the scene.

Farquharson’s family has disputed the allegation and pointed to video evidence they claim contradicts the police’s version of events.

The Office of the Public Defender (OPD) said it was awaiting the outcome of INDECOM’s inquiries and stood in support of its mandate to conduct a thorough investigation.

“We encourage the public to allow INDECOM to carry out its investigation, and we expect that its findings will be treated with the seriousness it deserves,” the OPD said.

INDECOM said none of the 23 lawmen on the raid, which resulted in Farquharson’s death, wore body cameras.

It also revealed that Farquharson was not named on the search warrant.

“Not once this year has anybody worn a body-worn camera during a planned police operation,” said Campbell on Monday.

“We do keep repeating the same message, because here is perhaps an example where CCTV evidence exists, but body-worn cameras would have supported the police and reinforced what they report to us.”

Campbell revealed that his team has secured the original closed-circuit television footage from the incident and is conducting an analysis.

He declined to disclose what the recordings show, but acknowledged that versions circulating on social media were not time-stamped.

“I do note that some of that CCTV material I see is circulating on social media. But I’m not going to add to that, because it isn’t necessarily in chronological order, and I notice some of it is not timed. So, we have to be careful and properly analyse it before discussing further what it shows, and what it appears to show,” he said.

Campbell also disclosed that the search warrant used by the police did not bear Farquharson’s name but, instead, listed another person and gave only ‘Cherry Tree Lane’ as the address.

“It’s definitely a different name. It’s not Jahmar Farquharson on the warrant,” he said, noting that investigators are probing whether the person named is connected to the premises.

Human-rights lobby Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) on Tuesday reiterated its call for the mandatory use of body-worn cameras, particularly in planned operations, by the police.

JFJ argued that the circumstances surrounding Farquharson’s death raise serious concerns about police conduct and accountability.

It said the situation requires transparency.

“This incident demonstrates that standard body cameras are fully adequate for planned or tactical operations, since no rugged terrain or specialised equipment was required,” said JFJ.

“We therefore reiterate our call for some of the cameras now being procured to be designated for use in these operations,” it added.

JFJ said the time is right for the police commissioner to update the public on the status of the procurement process and the intended deployment of body cameras within the JCF.

In a social media post in June, the JCF said Blake indicated that “the procurement and wearing of body-worn cameras have not been overlooked, but work is being done to establish the proper infrastructure to manage the data from the cameras”.

“Dr Blake confirmed that the necessary data infrastructure was secured, and assured that the JCF will continue the procurement of body-worn cameras,” it added.The timelines and the policy for planned operations are not clear.

Campbell has stressed that their consistent use would protect both citizens and officers, especially in controversial cases.

“Body-worn cameras would support the police and reinforce what they report to us and state what happened,” he said.

INDECOM is preparing a formal report on the status of the body-worn camera programme by the end of September.

The police force has repeatedly rejected suggestions that it is resisting the widespread deployment of body-worn cameras, pointing instead to the gradual build-out of infrastructure and training.

In November 2024, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang downplayed the technology’s usefulness in hostile confrontations.

“It [a body-worn camera] is of very little value. You don’t need to be an expert to understand... you put a camera on your chest, you start shooting at somebody, they start shooting at you, you going to dive for cover,” he said.

Chang argued that the “primary benefit” of body-worn cameras was in maintaining public order, such as in the management of street vending.

Jamaica has seen a record decline in murders of more than 40 per cent so far this year, compared with the similar period last year.

However, rights groups and INDECOM have raised concerns about an increase in fatal shootings by the security forces.

INDECOM is reporting 225 fatal shootings for January 1 - September 23, a 73 per cent increase over the similar period last year.

“[It’s] an extraordinary increase in the number of fatal shootings this year, with a significant proportion arising out of planned police operations,” the INDECOM deputy commissioner said on Tuesday.

editorial@gleanerjm.com