Cops overcome loss, trials to excel

In the space of a few days, Monique Bartley lost her home and her sister.

During the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the roof over Bartley's head was ripped away, damaging personal belongings. But, before she could fully process that loss, her sister, who had been battling Stage Four breast cancer, died a few days later. The two blows came so close together that there was little time to grieve one before confronting the other. That period of upheaval has since shaped how Bartley moves through the world and how she serves.

Her resilience was recently recognised at the JCF/LASCO Saluting Our Heroes Awards, where the Area One officer placed fourth among six finalists selected from more than 158 officers across the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). She was subsequently promoted to the rank of corporal.

Reflecting on the losses, Bartley said "Some may say it's very hard and challenging. Yes, there are moments when I feel low." Her sister, who was deaf, had been eagerly looking forward to the awards ceremony.

"She would have been so happy on a day like this," Bartley told the news team. "She was part of the deaf community and communicated through sign language. She was excited about watching it."

The loss was especially painful for Bartley, who said her sister became her closest family figure after their mother died when Bartley was just eight months old.

"She was my big sister, the one I always called on," Bartley said. "Even with her disability, I felt like I was her protector."

Rather than retreat inward, Bartley said her experiences have deepened how she connects with young people in the communities she serves.

"I'm not afraid to share my life story with them," she said. "I know what poverty is like. I know what it means to lose family and still find balance and come back stronger."

She opined that the openness helps challenge long-held perceptions about policing.

"People think that, because you're a police officer, you're not going through anything," Bartley said. "I want to change that narrative. I'm a police officer, but I'm also an ambassador for change."

While Bartley's journey has been shaped by sudden loss, another finalist's path to the awards stage was forged through survival. In 2018, Chadrick Williams was told he would never walk again. He fell while on duty, which left him paralysed from the chest down. The injury forced him to confront a future he never imagined, and nearly ended his career.

"The prognosis was that I would never walk again," Williams said. "Mentally, it almost broke me."

At one point, he said he seriously considered leaving the force.

"But, when members of the force rallied around me, the empathy, the compassion, I realised I was part of a family," he said.

That support, Williams said, became the foundation of his recovery. Hospital visits, physiotherapy appointments, care packages and constant messages of encouragement helped him push through moments when giving up felt easier. Against medical expectations, Williams regained mobility and eventually returned to active duty.

"The mind is very powerful," he said. "If I had accepted what the doctors said, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Years later, his recovery and continued service were recognised at the awards ceremony, where the Area Four officer placed fifth among the six finalists. He was also promoted to detective sergeant.

The experience, he said, has permanently reshaped how he views both life and policing.

"It made me appreciate the little things people take for granted, [like] getting out of bed, walking to the fridge," Williams said. "Those things mattered when I couldn't do them."