THE Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has concluded that after reviewing footage from numerous closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) the police, who engaged and fatally shot two gunmen on Trafalgar Road in St Andrew in May last year, acted within the law.

Deputy Commissioner of INDECOM Hamish Campbell revealed during the commission’s virtual press conference on Thursday that the investigation into that case has ended.

Following the incident, questions were raised about the legality of the manner in which one of the men was killed. But INDECOM said that based on the investigations there appears to be no evidence that anything foul occurred.

“The investigation has been concluded and the reports have been submitted to our legal department. The inquiry acquired an enormous amount of CCTV footage from various cameras in the location which has helped considerably in understanding what took place. At the moment the investigative report doesn’t identify any individual police officer who will be subject to any sanction, discipline, or charge,” Campbell said.

On May 10, 2021 it took the police 13 minutes, using the JamaicaEye CCTV network, to apprehend gunmen who had around midday killed 48-year-old businessman Robert Fletcher on Old Hope Road and relieved him of his licensed firearm and cash.

The criminals, who were travelling in a white Toyota Axio motor car, engaged the police in a shoot-out near the intersection of Trafalgar Road and Hope Road, forcing motorists to duck inside their vehicles as traffic came to a standstill.

After the clash, two of the men were confirmed dead. A third man was said to have escaped in a black van. Police sources said at the time that the man who fled was badly injured during the gunfight.

The police seized two Glock 9mm pistols.

Following the murder of the businessman on Old Hope Road, his relatives told the Jamaica Observer that he had been operating a bar and was regularly plagued by extortionists.

Seeing how effective the JamaicaEye system was in apprehending the perpetrators, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang praised it, saying, “It was a very good example of how we are using technology, and shows what technology can do to disrupt criminal activities, especially in the urban areas. By virtue of the surveillance cameras… the New Kingston Mobile Patrol moved in and the Quick Response Team responded. The men shot at the police, and the police, who are well-trained, responded and two were fatally shot.”