The PNP Patriots condemns the reported pepper-spraying of the Minister of Local Government and Community Development and Member of Parliament for West Kingston, the Honourable Desmond McKenzie, during an encounter with the Jamaica Constabulary Force in his constituency. Public reports indicate Minister McKenzie had entered a community in West Kingston to calm tensions following a police shooting and was pepper-sprayed while attempting to prevent escalation.

The incident raises serious questions about use of force, police discretion, and the treatment of citizens in high-tension encounters with security forces. The PNP Patriots will not prejudge any investigation, but the nation deserves a comprehensive, independent, and transparent inquiry with all video, station records, radio communications, and other evidence secured, the officers involved identified, and findings made public.

Paul A. Blake, President of the PNP Patriots, said the incident should be a turning point in the national discourse on police accountability. “When a serving Cabinet Minister can reportedly be pepper-sprayed while attempting to de-escalate a situation, Jamaica must consider the implications for ordinary citizens who lack official titles and access to positions of authority. For years, residents of some of Jamaica’s most vulnerable communities have reported disrespect, excessive force, and abuse of authority their accounts too often dismissed or weighed against the unrecorded statements of the State.”

The PNP Patriots is calling for mandatory wearing and activation of body-worn cameras during planned police operations; arrests, searches, and traffic stops; crowd-control and public-order duties; any encounter involving the use or threatened use of force; and any interaction that could reasonably result in a complaint, injury, or loss of life backed by explicit disciplinary measures when an officer fails to activate an assigned camera, interferes with a recording, or deletes footage, and strict rules governing secure storage, INDECOM access, and timely disclosure in criminal, disciplinary, and civil proceedings.”

“A camera that is purchased but not worn is ineffective. A camera that is worn but not activated serves no purpose. A policy lacking consequences for non-compliance amounts to a public-relations exercise,” Blake stated.

The Government has repeatedly announced intentions to deploy body-worn cameras. The public is entitled to know how many are operational, where they are deployed, how often they are activated, and what penalties apply for non-use.

The PNP Patriots is demanding:

• A publicly stated national timetable for full deployment of body-worn cameras;
• Mandatory activation policies backed by enforceable sanctions; and
• A comprehensive legal framework governing the use, storage, review, and disclosure of footage.

The Patriots continue to support the many professional officers who serve Jamaica honourably under difficult conditions. Body-worn cameras protect responsible officers from false accusations as much as they protect citizens from misconduct. Accountability strengthens policing rather than undermining it.

“No police officer is above the law, and no citizen should be beneath its protection. The State grants police officers significant power, but that power is not absolute; it must be exercised lawfully, proportionately, and with respect for the dignity and rights of every Jamaican,” Blake concluded.