Tensions run high at JFJ protest

Half-Way Tree in St Andrew was filled with emotion and colour yesterday as the Jamaica for Justice (JFJ) 'End Police Violence' protest ignited a tense face-off between mourners, dressed in black, and pro-police advocates clad in blue at the busy transport centre.

Paulette, a passionate supporter of the security forces, was among those in blue. She was adamant that the police should be supported in their efforts to bring down the crime rate.

"Work mi bredda a come from when gunman shot him up. One a dem nuh have no kidney dung a Montego Bay and the other one cripple dung deh!" Paulette shouted.

"Mi want justice fi mi bredda, the whole a him ankle cut off, knock off directly. Mi have a cousin weh dead inna the lot when gunman shot dem up."

Her anger and heartbreak were compounded by the experience of her daughter, a former cop, left the force after she was reportedly attacked.

"Dem gang her dung a Seaview, beat her up and tear off her uniform... mi neva hear Jamaica for Justice come out come say nothing. Mi daughter resign and leff it [and] because she nuh want dem kill her she gone a foreign gone live. A wah dem a talk bout?"

Paulette said her ire lies not with the police, but with the criminals terrorising communities.

"Mi a go home from work inna 2022-them hold me up at gunpoint and tek weh mi things, up to the bag with mi food. Mi nah defend no gunman! Justice mi a say fi the innocent people dem weh di gunman dem kill."

But the crowd dressed in black had their own anguish to bear. Their pain stems from a justice system they believe has failed to protect persons from police abuse.

"Police are murdering people's children and nothing is coming of it," shouted one protester, drawing murmurs of agreement.

"We come out peaceful and dem send half the police force fi intimidate we? That nuh right."

Another man echoed the frustration.

"You have good police, but what we a talk about is the ones them weh a kill people because dem believe dem bigger than the law. Dem kill people and justify it. Why we have judge, courthouse and lawyer if a police a act like judge, jury and executioner?"

Veteran attorney Bert Samuels, who stood among the JFJ-rallied demonstrators, described the protest as "a necessary reckoning with a violent history."

"While crime overall might be down, police killings are up. ... 107 people killed by police since the year start and nobody is going before the courts."

Samuels, who has represented both victims of police violence and police officers themselves, argued that the root of the issue lies in a lack of accountability.

"If you're doing something lawful, wear the body camera. Why wear a mask with no badge number unless you're hiding something? Even criminals wear masks to hide their identity."

He condemned what he called "systemic cover-ups" within the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

"My own police clients confess to me the wrongs of their colleagues. Yet, the High Command protect them and boast that crime is down. But police crime is up. Isn't that ironic?"

Police data indicate a 37 per cent decline in murders between January 1 to April 27 of this year representing when compared to the corresponding period last year. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has predicted that the number of murders will fall below 1,000 murders this year, the first time in almost 30 years.