-after crowd ignored warnings, circled unit
Sergeant Roderick English, who led a Linden-based patrol to the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge on the day that three residents were killed and others were wounded, yesterday said he discharged rounds into the air after his unit was circled by a crowd of hundreds that did not heed warnings to disperse.
English, the Subordinate Officer in charge of the McKenzie Police Station, was at the time testifying before the Commission of Inquiry into the July 18 protestor shootings near the bridge.
He had been detailed with four ranks to perform duties at the Kara Kara Call Centre, where upon arrival at around 8:30am he observed about 100 persons gathered. Shortly after, he continued, a motorcar arrived and Lincoln Lewis, Aubrey Norton and Callendar ‘Bad Heart’ (only names given) disembarked and had a brief discussion with the persons gathered. He recalled seeing a 30-seater bus arrive that made about four trips with the crowd. English said he suspected that the group was going to the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge.
He said that he was subsequently instructed to join the anti-crime patrol, of which he was in charge, and remain on standby. English said he was briefed by former E & F Division Commander Clifton Hicken at about 16:00 hours and was told that he and his patrol were to uplift riot stores – CP 1.5 cartridges and CP guns. “Whyte was issued 1 CP gun with 20 CP 1.5 cartridges; Dhanraj was issued 1 CP gun with 20 CP 1.5 cartridges… I had one hand grenade and my firearm, a CF Rifle, that I would have uplifted earlier,” English said. He noted that this was to prepare them to curb any disturbance.
Audio
Part 1 – COI Hearing
Part 2 – COI Hearing
Formation
English stated that at the bridge, the Tactical Services Unit ranks disembarked their vehicle and fell into formation while two ranks held a banner and Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd sounded a siren and read a proclamation over a loudhailer. He noted that about 40 persons heeded this and walked in the eastern direction to the back of the unit while others were heard shouting expletives. He pointed out that this was about 17:15 hours.
“The crowd became intense and started hurling bottles and stores and whatever at hand… Commander Todd discharged rounds from CP gun and some appeared to be cold. They did not ignite and the crowd kept advancing,” English said. According to him, the unit was circled by the crowd by over 300 persons and teargas was released. “I took my rifle and release same and caused them to step back after it ignited,” he added.
According to English, he was then informed by Hicken of a fire at the GRA building and once there, he was confronted by more protestors. English said he attempted to extinguish the fire at the guard hut but then observed that the building was also on fire. He contacted Hicken and explained that he and his patrol were prevented from extinguishing the fire to the building, since stones and bottles were being hurled at them.
Take cover
“We had to take cover at the side of the building… I called Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken, who instructed me to have Rodney discharge a round. I told him to discharge in the air because the crowd was really close and I didn’t want anyone to receive injuries or lose their lives,” English said. He pointed out that after the round was discharged, they were able to extinguish the fire.
“About five minutes later, I heard an explosion and then hear ‘fire,’” he said, adding that he immediately contacted Hicken and told him of the Linmine fire.
When they went there, he said, persons were seen and it was suspected that they were attempting to vandalise the building. English noted that Lance Corporal Bruce fired teargas and the crowd dispersed, allowing them to push vehicles from under building. The crowd, he said, returned and Rodney was forced to discharge another round but by that time the building had been destroyed.
English said he received another call from Hicken who informed him that the PPP/C office was engulfed in flames and he and ranks walked there since the road was blocked with stones and large pieces of lumber. He said that after requests, the crowd refused to remove from the PPP/C compound, so he called Hicken for further advice.
“I informed Commander Hicken that the fire service was unable to pass there and I was seeking permission for Rodney to discharge another round. Permission was granted and the round was discharged and the people left,” he recalled.
When the fire service arrived, the fire was extinguished. “We remained in the area for about half an hour to 45 minutes. We had to remain with the fire tenders because they were afraid. They told us if we left they wouldn’t remain to put out any fire,” English pointed out.
Upon their return at the station, he said he made physical checks of the stores (weapons) which were issued to ranks and all were not accounted for. From constable Dhanraj’s stores, nine cartridges were short from the 20 he had left with. English said that Dhanraj informed him that the cartridges were used by ASP Todd at the bridge. Asked upon whose instructions Todd used Dhanraj’s cartridges, English said Todd instructed the rank to hand over his CP 1.5 cartridges because his were cold.
English said he stood down at 20:30 hours and up to that time he was not informed of anyone being killed or injured.
Video footage
Resuming testimony yesterday was Police Constable Maxwell Grant, whose video footage of Linden in the aftermath of the evening of July 18th was shown. This covered a period of about one and a half to two weeks later. Grant stated that he was experiencing difficulty with the audio although it was functioning fine yesterday morning. As a result, the video was shown with no audio and Grant was asked questions while the video, which was more than an hour long, was shown.
Hughes asked whether the video was in chronological order and was told it was not. When asked if it had been edited, Grant responded in the negative. “Just how I record it, I burnt it and showed it,” he said.
Commissioner Knight asked the witness when he began shooting the video and was told on the evening of July 18 at the Kara Kara Bridge. Responding to further questions posed by Knight, Grant said he did not observe police ranks doing anything other than clearing logs and debris on July 18 nor on July 19 but only on August 12. He was not asked to elaborate.
Justice
Meanwhile, attorney Basil Williams yesterday said that the initial protest in Linden was as a result of the increase in electricity tariff but continued due to the shooting and killing of the three men.
“The tariff issue is one that is an ongoing issue. It has not been settled. That is not at an end… The killings on the 18th, the events of the 18th, caused the protests and those protests lasted until the date of the 10th and the 12th of August, when a massive assault was perpetrated on those people and that enabled the disciplined forces to remove and clear all the barriers to the entrances and the exits to the town of Linden and that really concluded, forcibly, the denying of access, the cutting off by Linden by the people of Linden, who were understandably very angry and I don’t think that they are no longer angry. They are just abiding the outcome of the commission of inquiry and they expect that they would get justice,” Williams said yesterday.
This remark prompted Commissioner KD Knight to ask if the Lindeners’ anger erupts again, whether Williams would still regard that as a consequence of the July 18 events.
“Mr. Williams, do you intend to put before this commission, evidence that these protests in August were due to the killing of the people in July,” Chairman of the Commission, Justice Lensley Wolfe, further asked.
Williams responded in the affirmative, stating that he intended to bring forward the executives of Linden along with other persons who have already testified to this in written statements.
“If it happens today or tomorrow, can you reasonably say that it is the effect of the event on the 18th? It can’t go on forever!” Justice Wolfe said.
Williams stated that the Chief Executive of the region has the statement and “the evidence has come out”. He added that the MP of that region has also given a statement and has indicated that the reason in the first instance was a demonstration of such.
“You can’t come and say the people told me that is why they protest and such and such… these persons will have to come themselves and say this is exactly why we were protesting,” Justice Wolfe said.
“What you are attempting to do, to set up a proclamation as to the reason for what happened and the proclamation must have reasonable proximity to the occurrence of July 18. That is how that cause operates,” Justice Wolfe told Williams.
