23 officers, no body cams in Clarendon raid that killed Jahmar Farquharson

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) says none of the 23 officers on the Clarendon raid in which 22-year-old Jahmar Farquharson was killed had on any body-worn 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 Deputy Commissioner Hamish Campbell yesterday, in an update on the September 15 operation at a house in Cherry Tree Lane in Four Paths.

"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 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 a 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.

A video circulating online shows Farquharson opening a door and then putting his hands above his head as police officers entered the house.

According to Campbell, the police account is that 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 officers reportedly fired two rounds each, fatally wounding him.

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

But Campbell also disclosed that the search warrant used by police did not bear Farquharson's name. Instead, it 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.

The absence of body-worn cameras has long been a sticking point between INDECOM and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Campbell 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 matter by the end of September.

The police force, however, has repeatedly rejected suggestions that it is resisting 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.

The police force has not publicly commented on the incident, which has drawn public outrage. Jamaica has been 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 force. INDECOM, is reporting 225 fatal shootings since January 1, a 73 per cent increase over the similar period last year.

"An extraordinary increase in the number of fatal shootings this year, which a significant proportion arising out of planned police operations," the INDECOM deputy commissioner said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile for Farquharson's mother, Lafay-Ann Wright, the explanations have provided little comfort. She told The STAR that her grief deepened after recognising her son in a video clip of the raid.

"The way I grow my child, he was simply following instructions," she said, insisting he was not the kind of young man to confront police. "Mi can guarantee when him open the door, him say, 'Good evening, officers', 'cause a suh him stay. A suh him grow."

Farquharson, a past student of Denbigh High and Vere Technical High schools, had secured employment with the National Water Commission and was pursuing entrepreneurial ventures, including catering, beekeeping, and welding.

His family and supporters last week staged a protest in May Pen, condemning what they labelled "a grave injustice" and "cold-blooded murder."

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