Granville Anger Deepens After Police Shooting of Latoya Bulgin

A senior member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force has stopped short of criticising officers seen on surveillance video pulling a wounded woman from a vehicle in Granville, St James, shortly after she was shot in the chest by a policeman. The recording has stirred anger in the community, where residents have described the officers’ actions as cruel and lacking basic humanity.

Latoya ‘Buju’ Bulgin, 45, was taken out of her vehicle, hauled across the ground and then put into the back of a police service pickup. The CCTV clip did not include sound, but one person nearby appeared to be crying out as the scene unfolded.

The senior policeman, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case, said the public may not be considering all the pressures officers face in such moments.

“The police can’t pronounce somebody dead. We can only assume the person may be dead. Confirmation can only come from a doctor, and we are obligated to get them to the nearest medical facility as quickly as possible,” he explained.

“I can’t say whether there is any technique or finesse in how such victims should be handled. Ideally, officers should be wearing gloves, and the proper way is hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot. But how someone is lifted often depends on their weight and the situation confronting the officers,” he reasoned.

The officer, who works with one of the JCF’s rapid-response units, said two policemen may struggle to place an unconscious person into the back of a police pickup without using force and momentum. He said that difficulty can be greater when officers have not yet properly assessed the crowd, the area, or possible threats at a tense scene.

“Police are not trained emergency medical technicians, but because of the nature of the job, we are constantly forced into situations – including shootings and motor vehicle crashes – where we have to make quick decisions,” he said.

“By right, police vans are not ambulances, and police are not supposed to transport injured people like that. But based on the reality of policing in Jamaica, whenever somebody is injured, the police usually take them to hospital because we are there to serve,” he continued. He also noted that police may later be accused of making injuries worse while moving victims.

Bulgin’s shooting and the way she was removed from the scene have reopened public concern about police use of force and how wounded civilians are treated during operations. Several Granville residents have condemned both the shooting and the handling of her body.

“We have made significant progress between the residents of Granville and the police, and this just erodes that work,” charged Michael Troupe, councillor for the Granville Division.

“How she was dealt with was even more upsetting than the fact that she was shot,” he told The Gleaner. “The children are seeing that video and they are traumatised by it. So how are you going to talk to a child about trusting the police after something like that?”

A close relative of Bulgin became emotional while describing how the family learnt what had happened.

“Right now, I am just lost and can’t understand all of this. The whole community is upset, and fires light day and night,” he said, referring to ongoing protests over her death.

“I don’t know what they would have told me if she did have her little grandson in the vehicle with her because they are always together,” he added. He said the child has been asking for his grandmother since the incident.

“The lady didn’t deserve to die like this. Right now, I cry till the tears just dry up. Right now, it’s just pure memories. I don’t even know how to feel anymore,” he told The Gleaner.

“We want justice – not just for her, but for all the youths in Granville the police killed.”

The Independent Commission of Investigations said it was carrying out the required steps and, “at the appropriate time, due to the high public interest, will provide further updates”.

INDECOM said the way Bulgin was moved would not by itself automatically lead to a separate investigation, unless investigators find that her transport contributed to injury or death.

Although some people at the scene have made claims about her condition, it has not been established whether Bulgin was still alive when police took her from the vehicle and placed her in the pickup.

“How the victim’s body was handled clearly was not in keeping with any human rights standard. The JCF High Command – the commissioner himself – needs to clarify what policies exist regarding pronouncements of death and how victims are treated,” argued Mickel Jackson, executive director of Jamaicans for Justice.

“There is an allegation in the community that the woman may still have been alive after the shooting. I don’t know the veracity of that, but it is something the investigation will have to examine,” Jackson said.

Medical experts say the video did not show first aid being given, nor did it show obvious measures to keep Bulgin’s airway clear or to protect her neck and spine while she was being moved, steps considered important when transporting injured people.

Jackson also raised concern about footage that appeared to show officers making repeated attempts to shut the tailgate after Bulgin had been placed in the cargo section of the police vehicle.