A Jamaican police officer has been charged with murder after a 45-year-old woman was shot dead during a protest, in a rare move against a member of the security forces. Constable Andrew Wilson appeared in court on Wednesday and was denied bail, with a further hearing scheduled for mid-June, according to the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom).
The shooting of Latoya “Buju” Bulgin on 17 May in Granville, St James, northwest Jamaica, sparked violent protests. She had been attending a demonstration against the fatal shooting of her cousin, 17-year-old Tjey Edwards, by police days earlier. Footage circulated on social media showed an officer opening fire on her vehicle during the protest.
CCTV footage shows Bulgin's minivan stationary at the side of the road as several people climb out, with police officers standing nearby. As the vehicle begins to pull out into the road with a side door still open, an officer a few feet in front draws a handgun and shoots at the driver, without apparent warning. The footage captures screams and people running.
After the shooting, officers dragged Bulgin's limp body from the car, placed her on the ground, and lifted her into the back of a police pickup truck. No attempt appears to have been made to administer first aid. The officer accused of the killing was not wearing a body-worn camera, a device long advocated by Indecom and the human rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) to strengthen accountability.
Mickel Jackson, executive director of JFJ, said that without the CCTV footage “we would not be in the position to even be having this conversation”. Indecom stated that the “prompt collection and analysis of video evidence” had been central to its investigation. The commission has reported 140 fatal shootings so far this year in Jamaica, a country of 2.8 million people, while last year JFJ protested against what it called a “significant and alarming” rise. The PNP Women's Movement described the use of lethal force as deeply concerning and said the way Bulgin's body was handled fell below the respect owed to citizens. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has urged a prompt, independent, and transparent inquiry into the killing.
