Regardless of exhibiting indicators of sickness, the evidence-in-chief of Deputy Superintendent of Police Kevin Francis appeared within the Westmoreland Circuit Court docket because the trial of three cops implicated in Mario Deane’s dying in 2014 resumed in the present day.
Sporting a medical masks and sometimes sipping water, Francis, who was the commanding officer answerable for the Barnett Avenue Police Station lock-up in Montego Bay on the time Deane was crushed whereas in custody on the facility on August 3, 2014, informed the court docket {that a} normal station diary and a separate cell diary have been in use on the premises throughout that interval.
Francis defined that, relying on the structure of some police stations, two diaries could be used if the cell block is a big distance away from the station’s foremost constructing.
The witness additionally defined that the police have a lock-up coverage briefing during which the welfare of prisoners, together with their security in custody, are often outlined to the employees on shift obligation on the cells.
The trial is continuous.
The the cops on trial are Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant.
They’re charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public workplace, and taking steps to pervert the course of justice, beneath allegations that they have been on obligation on the Barnett Avenue Police Station lock-up in Montego Bay, St James on August 3, 2014, on the time when Deane was crushed whereas in custody.
It’s also alleged that Stewart, the senior officer on obligation, ordered the cleansing of the cell the place the beating happened earlier than investigators from the Unbiased Fee of Investigations arrived.
– Christopher Thomas
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