On a tense Monday in the tight-knit community of Granville, Montego Bay, grief-fueled protests filled the streets following a fatal police shooting that claimed the life of 17-year-old Tjey Edwards on Mother’s Day. For Edwards’ grieving mother, words failed to capture the depth of her pain — but every syllable she spoke carried unfiltered anguish and rage toward the officers who took her son’s life.
“My son surrendered to them. You told the boy to hold up his hands, and you still shot him,” she lamented, her voice rising as she demanded, “Police need to leave this area. We want justice for Tjey in Granville.”
While the mother declined to share her or her son’s name publicly, Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), the civilian-led agency tasked with probing law enforcement shootings, has formally identified the victim as Edwards. His death marks the 11th active police shooting investigation currently open with the commission, part of 126 fatal law enforcement shootings recorded across Jamaica so far this year. In dozens of these cases, community accounts of the incidents directly contradict official police narratives — and the Granville shooting is no exception.
According to anonymous sources within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the shooting unfolded around 6 a.m. Sunday, when a counter-narcotics and wanted operations team was wrapping up operations in Granville. Officers reported approaching Edwards as they exited the community, leading to a confrontation that ended with officers opening fire. The JCF claims a loaded black Taurus G2C 9mm pistol was recovered from Edwards’ body after the shooting.
That official account has been uniformly rejected by Edwards’ family and neighbours. The teen’s mother dismissed the weapon claim outright, insisting, “You searched him and saw he had no gun.” Protesting neighbours added that Edwards was simply walking home from a late-night community party when officers accosted and shot him without provocation.
Tyrone Gordon, one of the most outspoken leaders of the Monday protest, where demonstrators carried placards labeling the killing the “Mother’s Day Massacre,” demanded immediate accountability for the officer involved. “We want the officer who pulled the trigger to face a judge and jury,” Gordon said. “The boy gave up peacefully — there is no excuse for what happened.”
Granville Division Councillor Michael Troupe, of the People’s National Party, who described Edwards as a quiet, community-minded teen who volunteered to clean up flood damage after Hurricane Melissa hit last October, echoed those calls. Troupe, who employs Edwards’ mother in his political office, said he is arranging grief counselling for her as she mourns the loss of her firstborn child.
This shooting is not an isolated incident for Granville. It is the second fatal police shooting to spark mass unrest in the community since the start of 2024. On New Year’s Day, a stray bullet from a police firearm killed four-year-old Romaine Bowman during an operation that also left two adult men dead. That case remains under active investigation by Indecom, and Sunday’s killing has now been added to the agency’s growing caseload.
Troupe, however, says he has little faith that Indecom’s investigation will deliver meaningful justice. “Indecom coming to investigate is just a bunch of empty nonsense,” he argued. “They open an investigation, and then no one ever hears another word about it.” Troupe also pointed to a alarming national trend of youth deaths at the hands of law enforcement, noting, “Since the start of this year, 117 people have been killed by police in Jamaica. Last year the number was 317 to 320. An entire generation of young people is being lost.”
Marlene Malahoo Forte, Member of Parliament for St James West Central, traveled to Granville on Monday to meet with protesters and community leaders, seeking to de-escalate rising tensions. “Any loss of life under these circumstances is deeply unfortunate,” she said. “I was not present when this happened, so I have to rely on the accounts available, and right now there are multiple conflicting versions of events. Most people speaking are not direct eyewitnesses, and the community is still raw from trauma.”
Forte pushed back on Troupe’s skepticism of Indecom, noting that the civilian-led probe is the only path to fair accountability. “We have the benefit of an independent investigation by Indecom, and we have to let that process move forward,” she said. She also acknowledged that protesters have raised broader, longstanding concerns about policing in Jamaica — including repeated calls for officers to wear mandatory body-worn cameras to increase transparency.
The MP pledged to closely monitor the investigation into Edwards’ death and work with local leaders to prevent further unrest. “My priority is getting to the full truth of what happened, and we don’t want this community’s anger to spiral out of control,” she said. “There are so many grieving women and young people here who need support and guidance. I will continue to monitor this case, push for a full and transparent investigation, and work with Indecom and the JCF to ensure accountability is served.”
As of Monday, protests continued to simmer in Granville, with community members holding their ground demanding answers, even as local political leaders work to bridge divides between residents and law enforcement.
