A police officer is being accused of planting a magazine during a search, which was captured in a viral video. In the video, an officer was seen retrieving a magazine from a civilian’s car after one of the occupants pointed it out. In response to the strong accusation, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is now maintaining that the incident was a misunderstanding rather than an act of misconduct.
Reports say that the vehicle was travelling through Portmore, near Naggo Head Hall, when police pulled it over on Sunday, October 12. Members of the St Catherine South Police Division observed the vehicle speeding in the direction of a gas station, according to Senior Superintendent Dennis Brooks, Senior Communication Strategist at the JCF.
Inside the vehicle were a group of shirtless men, who told the officers they were returning from a football game. The video shows the search, during which an officer checks both the front and rear of the vehicle. After the checks were completed and the police walked away, one of the men alerted the police that he had left something in the vehicle.
Seconds later, an officer retrieves what appears to be an M16 magazine from the backseat of the car. The officer pockets the magazine, walks off and then appears to drive away in the patrol vehicle without saying anything to the civilians.
While many viewers cited the video as evidence of the ongoing corruption in the JCF, SSP Brooks insists that the item likely fell from the officer conducting the search. He explained that based on internal reports, the policeman had no intention of planting the magazine.
SSP Brooks told Nationwide News that the search was done with the occupant’s consent, as it was filmed with the consent of the officers. He described the circulating video as evidently edited, noting that key portions of the interaction were missing. He further pointed out that it would have been “extremely foolhardy” for any officer to risk planting a government-issued magazine that had been officially signed out.
Still, the video has raised concerns about transparency during police searches. Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels weighed in, suggesting that officers should avoid entering a civilian’s car with personal or police-issued items that could accidentally fall or cause confusion. The video also drew comments from John Clarke of Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), who noted that incidents like this highlight the importance of citizens recording their interactions with law enforcement.
