HANOVER, Jamaica— Family and friends of 24-year-old Avado Samuels, who was fatally shot by the police at a wake in Mount Pleasant, Hanover on Sunday, staged a protest in the capital town, Lucea on Tuesday.

More than 30 people, with placards in hand, held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Texaco gas station in the heart of the town as members of a police team kept a watchful eye on the protest.

Reports are that around 4:00 am on Sunday the police went to a location in Mount Pleasant where a wake was taking place. According to the reports, the police were trying to shut down the wake when a confrontation took place between Samuels and the members of the security force during which he was fatally shot.

READ: Patron at Hanover wake shot dead, two policemen injured during confrontation

The police also reported that one of cop received a shot to the hand during the incident.

But, Joveian Ottey, a friend of Samuels who claimed he witnessed what took place, said the event had ended and people were packing up when the police arrived.

According to Ottey, a dispute developed between Samuels and one of three policemen.

Ottey claimed that the police hit Samuels in the face during the confrontation and he retaliated by using a bottle to hit the policeman in the head.

Ottey said it was another policeman who was in a service vehicle who stepped out and shot Samuels several times to the left side of his abdomen.

The alleged eyewitness claimed that after the incident, the police left without assisting Samuels. He claimed that a pregnant woman, who was a vendor at the wake, used her vehicle to take Samuels to the Noel Holmes Hospital where he died while receiving treatment.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), which is investigating the incident, has already reported that no illegal gun was found at the scene.

A cousin of Samuels, DJ Gallis, who was also the sound selector at the wake, argued that even though Samuels was drinking, he was not drunk. According to DJ Gallis, he wants justice for his cousin.

“Mi believe in a God. Nuh kill them. Punish them like everybody else because nobody is above the law. Punish them according to what they have done,” declared DJ Gallis in reference to the cops involved in the fatal shooting of Samuels.

Anthony Lewis