The policeman who was accused of beating and pushing Corporal Grantley Waite down a flight of stairs at the Mount Salem Police Station in St. James, resulting in his death, has been freed.

Constable Hugh Campbell was freed yesterday of the murder charge at the end of a preliminary inquiry in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court.

The main witness for the Crown, who was a civilian, testified that he did not see who pushed the policeman.

No-case submission

Defence lawyer Jacqueline Samuels-Brown made a no-case submission and it was upheld.

It was alleged that Cpl. Waite, who was attached to the Half-Way Tree Police Station, went to the Mount Salem Police Station on November 16, 2005, and began to drink water from a glass. It is further alleged that, during a he was beaten and pushed.

Cpl. Waite died in hospital a few days later.

Statements were submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who ruled that Constable Campbell should be charged with murder.