Tashieka Mair, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU
THE CONSTABLE attached to the Mount Salem Police Station who was charged with the murder of Corporal Grantley Waite, who died on December 16 last year, was granted bail in the sum of $1 million when he appeared before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had ruled earlier this year that 35-year-old Constable Hugh Campbell be charged after Corporal Waite succumbed to injuries received in an alleged assault at the police station.
In statements dated November 24 and December 5, Corporal Waite alleged that he went to the Mount Salem police station, where he had previously been stationed, on November 15.
He said he went to the canteen where he saw a man and a woman around a counter and asked them for water. After getting no response he proceeded to serve himself.
He went to the refrigerator, removed a bottle of water and poured some into a cup. He said the female referred to him as a 'tiefing bwoy' after he took the water. Corporal Waite then identified himself as a police officer and poured another cup.
MONEY REMOVED FROM HIS POCKET
He said that, at that point, the man came at him with a baton and tried to hit him but missed. He further stated that he turned around to run but felt a blow to the back of the head and, at that point, fell down the stairs. He further said he felt someone remove money from his pocket and take his watch and cellular phone.
Corporal Waite then said he walked over to the Cornwall Regional Hospital to get treatment for a wound to his head.
The defence however, refuted the now-deceased corporal's account stating that, on the day in question, he appeared drunk and, while staggering towards a door, missed a step and fell down the stairs. The officer said he called another colleague to assist the corporal to the hospital.
Defence Attorney Jacqueline Samuels-Brown said Corporal Waite could not have walked to the hospital because a doctor's report stated that he had suffered spinal damage. She also pointed to statements from a doctor, who had examined the deceased, which said that he too could not believe that Mr. Waite was a policeman because he appeared 'bedraggled'. There were also reports that when he got to the hospital he was disoriented.
Conditions of Constable Campbell's bail include reporting to the Freeport police station three days each week, surrendering his travel documents, as well as a stop order being placed on him at all points of exit. He is to return to court on April 28.
