No faith in cameras - Grieving mom slams body-worn cams after police killing

As calls intensify from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) and civil society groups for police officers to be equipped with body-worn cameras during planned operations, a grieving St Catherine mother says the technology offers her no comfort--and no confidence that lives will be spared.

Janet Henry, who is now preparing to bury her 31-year-old son, says cameras will not stop what she believes are unlawful police killings.

Her son, Delton Johnson, otherwise called "Tea Bag", was fatally shot during a pre-dawn police operation at his home in Cheesefield, Linstead, last Thursday, January 8. His death was the 17th police fatal shootings recorded in 2026.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force announced on Monday that the roll-out of 1,000 newly acquired cameras is now at an advanced stage.

But sitting on her verandah, clutching her 18-month-old grandson, Henry dismissed the move as ineffective.

"Body-worn camera won't make a difference as these police have tricks and trade on how to manipulate that. They will find a way to beat the system," she told THE STAR.

She said the officers who came to her home on the morning her son was killed were all masked, making it impossible to identify any of them.

According to the police, a team went to Johnson's home in search of illegal weapons and wanted men. They claimed that Johnson was accosted and searched but broke free and ran into an unfinished section of the building, where he allegedly retrieved an illegal firearm from beneath a bucket. Police further alleged that he pointed the weapon at them, prompting them to open fire.

Johnson was taken to the Linstead Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Henry flatly rejected that version of events, insisting her son was executed.

"My son didn't have a gun. He was not a gunman," she said.

Henry said as she stood inside her house she heard four explosions and it was there that she got a gut feeling that the noise she heard were bullets being pumped into the body of her son.

Her fears were confirmed moments later.

"When his girlfriend told me they killed him, I already knew," Henry said.

"She is four months pregnant and they have my little grandson here. My son also have a 10-year-old son that lives in Switzerland with his mother. He died leaving his family," Henry said.

Johnson was the youngest of Henry's six children. As a young adult, he spent time in St Martin, where he married and lived for a period before returning home about four years ago.

"When he came back, he said he didn't want to work for anybody any more, so he started farming," she said.

Johnson reared cows, goats, horses, turtles, geese and chickens, and was registered with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority. He also operated a bar.

"My son was very ambitious and I can't recall one time when I saw him get angry, or he would say something offensive that I have to reprimand him," Henry said.

As she makes final funeral arrangements, Henry says her strength comes from her Christian faith.

"This is not the end. There is judgement--one book on the right and one on the left," she said.

With quiet resolve, she added: "I have a song in my heart and I will just keep pressing on. I am just praying for strength so I can put away his remains. I am leaving everything to God."