JAMAICA | When Sorry Isn't Enough: The Crisis of Police Accountability in Jamaica

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, June 21, 2025 - The haunting image of Alando Gray's face, plastered across the Jamaica Constabulary Force's "Wanted Wednesday" campaign as a murder suspect, should keep Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake awake at night.

Yet Dr. Blake's steadfast refusal to offer a personal apology to this construction worker—wrongly branded a killer and subjected to four days of detention and alleged abuse—exposes a troubling disconnect between the rhetoric of transformation and the reality of accountability within our police force.

Gray, a self-described "hard-working, Christian youth," endured a nightmare that began when police erroneously used his photograph in their high-profile campaign targeting murderers. The institutional machinery that Dr. Blake commands branded an innocent man as dangerous, forcing him to surrender himself with his father and pastor to clear his name.

During his four-day ordeal, Gray was allegedly threatened with placement "in a cell with murderers" and provided meals consisting of "one dumpling and a small amount of tea."

Even more damning, police discovered their catastrophic error but allowed Gray's image to remain posted as a wanted murderer for five excruciating days—only removing it after Radio Jamaica intervened.

For nearly a week, while police knew they had the wrong man, Gray's face continued to circulate as that of a violent killer, compounding the damage to his reputation and safety.

The Hollow Echo of Institutional Responsibility

While the JCF eventually issued a statement expressing "sincerest apologies to Mr Alando Gray," recognizing "any inconvenience or distress this may have caused," this sterile, bureaucratic response falls woefully short of genuine accountability.

The carefully crafted language—"inconvenience or distress"—trivializes what amounts to a fundamental violation of Gray's dignity and constitutional rights.

More troubling still, this wasn't mere negligence but deliberate inaction: police knew for five days they had imprisoned an innocent man yet required media pressure to correct their public defamation. When police negligence destroys lives, euphemisms are the enemy of justice.

Dr. Blake's refusal to step forward personally represents more than mere stubbornness; it signals a dangerous precedent where leaders shield themselves behind institutional walls while citizens bear the consequences of their failures.

When pressed on the matter, Dr. Blake's retort that the system provides legal means for Gray to sue the government for redress, and that personal apologies fall outside the police force's purview, offers cold comfort indeed. This legalistic deflection reveals a stunning disconnect from the human cost of police failures.

This isn't about protocol—it's about humanity. A man's reputation was destroyed, his liberty stolen, and his trust in the very institution meant to protect him shattered. That deserves more than bureaucratic finger-pointing toward the courts.

Democracy's Delicate Contract

“ When a man's life is shattered by police negligence, institutional apologies ring hollow if those at the helm refuse to take personal responsibility. ”

Our democratic framework rests on a fundamental covenant: citizens surrender certain freedoms to the state in exchange for protection and justice. When police become the perpetrators rather than the protectors, this social contract fractures. Community policing—the cornerstone of effective law enforcement—depends entirely on public trust.

Dr. Blake himself has proclaimed that police are "human rights activists" who "put their lives on the line every day in protection of others." Yet his actions in the Gray case suggest a troubling blind spot to the human rights of those wronged by his force.

The commissioner's selective empathy is particularly jarring given his recent willingness to "make no apology to stand between these murdering thugs and the people of this country." Dr. Blake demonstrates no such fierce advocacy for innocent citizens harmed by police errors. This asymmetry reveals a mindset where accountability flows only downward, never upward.

The Cost of Inaction

Jamaica faces a crime crisis that demands unprecedented cooperation between police and citizens. Recent statistics show approximately 50 people killed by security forces in the first 51 days of 2025—more than double the comparable period in 2024.

In this volatile environment, every wrongful arrest, every refused apology, every instance of police overreach drives another wedge between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Dr. Blake's defenders will argue that individual apologies set dangerous precedents or that institutional responses suffice. This misses the point entirely. Leadership demands ownership of failures as much as celebration of successes.

When a construction worker becomes the face of police incompetence through no fault of his own, the person commanding that system bears moral responsibility.

A Path Forward

The solution requires more than policy reviews and quality management systems. It demands a fundamental shift in police culture—from institutional defensiveness to personal accountability. Dr. Blake must recognize that his role extends beyond crime statistics and public safety campaigns. He is the guardian of public trust, and that trust has been damaged under his watch.

Alando Gray deserves more than bureaucratic regret. He deserves a direct, personal acknowledgment from the man who leads the force that wronged him—then compounded that wrong by requiring media intervention to correct their public defamation.

More importantly, Jamaica deserves a police commissioner who understands that saying "sorry" doesn't diminish authority—it strengthens it.

Our democracy depends on institutions that serve people, not the other way around. When those institutions fail, leaders must step forward, not hide behind corporate speak. Until Dr. Blake finds the moral courage to face Gray man-to-man and offer a sincere personal apology, he fails not just one wronged citizen, but the very principles of justice and accountability that should define our constabulary.

It is against this troubling background that I call on the government to undertake a comprehensive public education campaign about citizens' rights under the Charter of Rights enshrined in Jamaica's Constitution.

This education must begin in our schools across the nation, ensuring that every Jamaican child understands their fundamental rights and freedoms. Only an informed citizenry can hold institutions accountable and prevent cases like Alando Gray's from recurring.

The badge demands bravery in many forms. Sometimes the hardest act of courage is simply saying: "I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

-30-