Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE PROSECUTION failed in its bid yesterday to tender into evidence statements which Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and the five other policemen charged with murder had given in 2003 about the controversial shooting at Kraal, Clarendon.
"My ruling is that in the interest of justice, these statements must be excluded under the circumstances," Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe said after lengthy submissions from the defence and the prosecution.
Prosecutor Terrence Williams had sought to tender the statements through retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Osbourne Dyer, who was testifying at the trial of the six policemen charged with the murder of four civilians at Kraal on May 7, 2003.
SUPERVISING INVESTIGATIONS
Dyer testified in the Home Circuit Court that, while he was still a police officer, he got an assignment from then Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes to supervise investigations into the fatal shootings of the civilians. He spoke to SSP Adams and requested statements from him and other members involved in the fatal shootings.
He said he advised the accused men, when he requested the statements, that they were not obliged to give the statements.
When Dyer was shown the statements from the policemen, the Chief Justice said Mr. Williams would have to satisfy him that the accused waived their privilege and the lawyers had permission to hand them over.
Mr. Williams argued that the lawyer and client privilege did not arise because the statements were intended to be handed over to the investigator.
The defence lawyers objected to the statements being tendered into evidence, and pointed out that when the policemen gave the statements, they were not told they were suspects in the case and if they were, then they should have been cautioned before they gave the statements.
SANCTIONS WOULD FLOW
Attorney-at-law Deborah Martin stressed that the statements were only intended for the purpose of departmental investigation, and if the policemen did not give the statements when requested, certain sanctions would flow based on the rules of the police force.
Dyer said under cross-examination by K. Churchill Neita, Q.C., that Adams was a hardworking and courageous crime fighter, who was willing to go the extra mile to fight crime. He said 'Chen Chen', whose real name was Bashington Douglas, and another man called Robert Miller, were placed on identification parades in connection with the Kraal incident and were identified by police officers, including the accused men. He said he had seen warrants for Douglas which were for murder and others for shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm. Dyer said he was not aware that there were now no charges pending against Douglas.
