PEOPLE eager to see the outcome from the investigation into the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Jamar Farquharson by members of a police team in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon, on September 15 may have to wait until 2026 to know if charges will be laid against any of the cops involved in the shooting which sparked public outrage.

Twenty-three members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) were reportedly involved in the operation which resulted in Farquharson’s death.

Hamish Campbell, deputy commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday that the entity is still awaiting reports crucial to the investigation.

According to Campbell, while he hopes to be able to advance the case file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) by the end of this year, he understood that this was unlikely.

“The case is still being investigated, and we will have to submit a report to our legal team and they will decide if there is sufficiency of evidence to send it to the ODPP. Certainly by the end of the year we hope our report will be completed, but what we frequently have to rely on is the government laboratory to provide the ballistics report.

“While much of the investigation is completed and the officers interviewed and statements taken, we still have to wait on the post-mortem report to formally conclude the cause of death. It may be possible to at least have submitted the report before the end of the year,” Campbell said.

Following the controversial shooting death, Campbell said that Farquharson’s name was not on a warrant which the police had gone to Cherry Tree Lane to execute. He also explained that the warrant was issued under the Firearms Act.

At that time Campbell expressed concern that in many instances search warrants were being issued without an exact address, which was what occurred in this case.

“There are many search warrants that don’t give a gate number. Sometimes they just give a district or a road. It is concerning that the courts and justices of the peace are issuing these warrants with sometimes just the name of the road, and the road could be a mile long or even 20 yards,” Campbell told the Observer in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting of Farquharson.

“Other warrants have the correct or more full details of a house, name, or a number, etc. This particular one just has Cherry Tree Lane,” Campbell said.

The police claimed that Farquharson pulled a firearm while they were executing the search warrant. However, Farquharson’s relatives disputed the police’s version as they claimed he was murdered.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage was released by the family which showed Farquharson opening the front door of the house before raising both hands above his head as he saw the cops who were at the door.

No videos have been shared of the alleged confrontation between Farquharson and the police.

At the time of the incident Farquharson became the 219th person killed this year during planned police operations. Campbell pointed out that on none of these occasions, more than 100 incidents, were members of police teams wearing body cameras.

“That is really the concern — more broadly than Mr Farquharson’s death, which is equally important — that these operations are occurring without the use of body-worn camera,” Campbell said.

“The CCTV reported as being in this house is evidence in itself, and that’s what body-worn cameras would do, like what the CCTV has done, which is provide a neutral, independent account which can then be assessed and analysed, and the commission can get on with its investigation in the matter,” added Campbell.

Up to November 24, Indecom reported 278 fatal police shootings since the start of this year. This is more than all of 2024, when Indecom recorded 189 fatal shootings by members of the security forces.

Assistant Commissioner of Indecom Hamish Campbell. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)