THE shooting death by the police of 17-year-old Jevon Hall on Tuesday drew the ire of New Haven residents who blocked a section of Washington Boulevard in St Andrew to protest what they said was the murder of the teenager.

Police, who cleared debris from the road, had to maintain their presence to allow free flow of traffic in the usually busy area.

Some residents claimed that Hall was killed while in handcuffs and said he did not deserve to die the way he did because he was not a criminal.

“Dem kill the people dem pickney in Cooreville Gardens and come throw him inna di market at Duhaney Park like hog and goat,” A female resident claimed. The teenager, she said, was walking with his girlfriend to nearby Cooreville Gardens when he was picked up by the police, handcuffed, and placed in a service vehicle. “The boy was in handcuffs, begging for his life,” she alleged. “Them must not kill innocent youth,” the woman told the Jamaica Observer.

According to Hugh Faulkner, commissioner of Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), the police reported that they were confronted by Hall when he was shot. Faulkner encouraged witnesses to come forward with information on the fatal shooting.

“Indecom investigators, including forensic examiners, have processed the primary scene, which is on the Duhaney Park side and the secondary scene, which is more on the Cooreville side. The firearms of the concerned officers have been taken in, processed, and boxed for submission to the forensic lab. Also, the security forces presented a firearm reportedly retrieved after the incident. That also will be submitted to the lab for examination,” said Faulkner.

“The commission, as per usual, invite persons who may have witnessed the incident to contact the commission by visiting our offices at 1 Dumfries Road in New Kingston or contact us by Whatsapp. Our new Whatsapp number is 876-553-0000. As the investigation continues, we will await a date for post-mortem and for other processes to take place,” the commissioner said.