Investigations launched after British woman dies in police custody

  

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) investigators are probing the death of a British national at the Negril Police Station in Westmoreland.

 

The woman has been identified as 57-year-old Justine Zenta Templeman who resided in San Francisco, California. 

 

She reportedly committed suicide on Tuesday morning shortly after being taken into custody by the police.

 

INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner said the agency is investigating whether police personnel failed to follow the protocol established to protect the lives of persons in their care. 

 

"Any death in the custody of the security forces is a matter for INDECOM's investigation. The commission will trace the entry of the citizen into the custodial system, the circumstances governing that introduction to the custodial system, the experience of the deceased person while in custody, any particular protocol that should have been followed and all the medical steps taken," he said.    

 

Radio Jamaica News was informed that the police were called to a hotel property on Tuesday morning, following reports that the Briton had attempted to take her own life.

 

She was then taken to the police station out of concern.

 

Ms. Templeman reportedly asked to use the restroom, and upon realising that she had not come out after sometime, the police went to investigate.

 

She was found dead with the belt of her bathroom robe around her neck.

 

She was pronounced dead by a medical team.

 

The Police High Command has also ordered a probe into the incident. 

 

Meanwhile, Elaine Allen-Bradley, President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, has expressed sadness at the death of the visitor. 

 

"It's not for me or us to judge. We do not know what issues our clients have when they come to visit our beautiful island. So we have to take it from there. The police is involved in a lot of stuff. So if somebody has got any type of derangement and start breaking up things, obviously the first person they're going to call would be the police.... But each police station and each health facility has a mental health department," she noted.