Family accuses police of murder; slain man was on radar as criminal
Published:Monday | August 29, 2022 | 12:08 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
The family of a Kingston courier who was fatally shot on Marcus Garvey Drive Friday is accusing the police of killing the 21-year-old in cold blood and is demanding justice.
Shamar Stewart, of Allman Town, Kingston 4, was killed a day before a big cook-out he was planning in his community.
According to the police Corporate Communications Unit, Stewart was killed during an alleged confrontation with the police, and a .38 revolver containing three .38 cartridges was seized after the shooting.
A video of what is believed to be the shooting incident shows a man in a blue shirt with an identification card hanging around his neck firing several shots in a culvert.
Grieving relatives at Stewart’s home said Sunday that they were struggling to cope with his death and questioned the manner in which he was killed.
“That a di part weh grieve we di most,” said his aunt, Sharon Rowe. “That a nuh shoot-out, dat a murder! Mi nuh think somebody deserve so much shots. Worse, we nuh see him [in the video] a fire back.”
However, head of the Kingston Central Police Division, Superintendent Berrisford Williams, said that Stewart had been on law enforcers’ radar for robberies and shootings.
“In June, we picked him up for questioning for a robbery, but he was released without charge,” Williams told The Gleaner.
A teary-eyed Donna Falconer demanded to know why the police could not have arrested her son.
“If him really involved in a criminal activity, him know him couldn’t come to me and say that,” Faulknor said.
Rowe, however, said that it was rumoured that Stewart was involved in a robbery.
At the same time, she disclosed that her nephew was recently picked up by the police and that a woman had accused him of stealing a phone.
The mother of three, who was rushed to hospital on Saturday after seeing the video, recalled that on the day of her son’s death, she had sensed that something was wrong.
According to the mother, her son was a very loving person who had a soft spot for the elderly.
She said prior to his death, they were both planning to open a restaurant later this year. Two fundraising cook-outs were planned, one scheduled for Saturday and another for his birthday in November.
The fatal incident is being investigated by the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations.