-says blackout was followed by explosions
Jermaine Tucker, a police photographer, yesterday told the inquiry into the Linden killings that he had not seen protestors hurling missiles at police on July 18 and that there was a blackout after 6pm during which he heard explosions.
Tucker was the latest witness to testify before the Commission of Inquiry into the killing of three men on July 18 and other matters at the Supreme Court library.
“…The place was already dark. The light would usually come on when it gets dark but it completely went dark for a period. In the Linmine compound it came on back… about 10 minutes to 20 minutes after. The bridge was still dark, that didn’t come back on,” Tucker said under questioning by Commissioner Dana Seetahal at yesterday’s hearing.
When asked by attorney James Bond whether it was surprising that this piece of information was not spoken of when other ranks appeared before the commission, Tucker responded in the affirmative. “Is it surprising that no other police officer, from (Clifton) Hicken, to (Patrick) Todd, to (Roderick) English, to (Walter) Stanton, none of them mentioned blackout at 18:00 hours or thereabout?” he asked, with the witness responding, “Yes, that would be surprising.”
“From six, when they launch the attack, we have the evidence that these guys came and shot their tear smoke, shot pellets at the crowd; that occurred during the space of blackout?” Bond further inquired and again received an affirmative response.
Making reference to photographs taken by Tucker that had been submitted as evidence, Bond said that there was an absence of bottles and bricks in and around the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge. He was told by the witness that due to the poor lighting facilities, he could not get shots of that.
Tucker, however, noted that he had taken photographs on July 19 which depicted otherwise. “This is in front of the bridge at the Mackenzie shore. Bottles, corks, straws, they have dark green glass bottles… a few,” he said as he looked at one of the photographs.
“The majority of solid particles is plastic, you’re seeing plastic bottles… a lot of trampled plastic bottles and straws,” Bond stated, further quizzing Tucker about boulders he had earlier on mentioned in giving his evidence. “There won’t be boulders because the police cleared up the boulders and these kinds of things,” he replied.
Audio
COI hearing – 5/10/12
“I’m not talking about boulders, rocks that can be thrown by the human hand, for about 150 feet,” Bond posited with Tucker stating he had no knowledge about that.
According to Tucker, between 5:30pm and 6pm, he was in the Linmine compound from where he could see the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge. He was asked by Bond whether during that time if he had noticed protestors hurling glass bottles and rocks, approximately 50 bottles per second, at the police. “When the tear smoke was fired into the crowd, the crowd was at the Mackenzie side of the bridge, and they dispersed into the Linmine compound and a set started to head into direction of where tear smoke was coming from…I tried to get a photograph of the crowd and it wasn’t clear,” Tucker said. Stating that this had not answered his question, Bond reiterated once more and was told, “No sir, I didn’t see them throwing anything”.
Attorney Hukumchand, who is representing the Guyana Police Force, challenged whether the witness would have been able to see the people on the bridge if he was at the time attempting to photograph the crowd running into the Linmine compound. “While there, you looked across at the bridge?” Seetahal then asked Tucker, who said “Yes”.
In giving his evidence, Tucker had said that he was threatened during the blackout by a protestor, who ordered him not to photograph the events. “I couldn’t tek any photograph because when I try getting photograph a man come and stand up right behind me with a bottle and tell me leh I don’t tek out any picture because I is a policeman and if I tek out any picture he gon buss me head with the bottle, so I just turn, tek a flash and left,” Tucker recalled.
Loud explosions
Asked by commission legal counsel Ganesh Hira what else was happening during that time, the witness relayed that he heard several loud explosions.
“I hear a set of loud explosions and persons started running in my direction and saying ‘weh them police deh, they want kill them police’ then further up I saw a group trying to pull a trailer from opposite the GRA building. I tried getting photograph but again it was blurred and at the time I hear somebody say ‘Look a next police coming deh’ and I see Mr. (Assistant Superintendent Walter) Stanton coming, running with a speed sir,” Tucker told Hira.
He stated that after informing Stanton of what had transpired, he was advised to return to the Mackenzie Police Station. Tucker noted that he was later called out to go to the scenes of the fires to get photographs but they were blurry.
When Stanton returned to the witness box earlier yesterday, he was drilled about his statement of not discharging any round on July 18, even as he was being chased. “You were fleeing for your life and you didn’t fire any round? … Not even in the air?” attorney Basil Williams asked the witness, who responded in the negative.
When asked whether he lodged his weapon, a CZ 9mm pistol on the evening of July 18, Stanton explained that the weapon is assigned to him and he is allowed to carry it at all times without lodging it. Williams asked if a record is kept of the ammunition he uplifts and Stanton noted that this is done at Tactical Services Unit (TSU)in Georgetown.
00 cartridge
“Mr. Williams, on the evidence and on the statements presented, is there any indication that anyone suffered injury from a 9mm weapon?” Commissioner KD Knight asked the attorney, who stated that he is uncertain where there is any like that. “I’m instructed that there is a case where the bullet passed entirely through the leg,” he subsequently pointed out.
“That doesn’t make it a 9mm because it pass through the leg… that’s no determination of calibre… from the document and particularly from the post-mortem, the type of warhead was 00 cartridge. That is why I have been focusing on 00 cartridges all along because I want to find out if the Guyana Police use 00 at all, anywhere. That’s why I focus on it. From the statements I have, they talk about 00 and pellets. Persons suffering injury talk about pellets”, Knight stated.
“To say that someone was injured by a bullet which passed through the leg is wholly unhelpful because no one will be able in the circumstances to say what sort of calibre did the injury… you raised the point that someone was injured by a bullet which passed entirely through the leg. That will take us nowhere because you will never be able to say what bullet, what weapon, caused the injury to that person,” Chairman of the Commission, Lensley Wolfe affirmed. Williams agreed to this and was told to move on.
Williams proceeded to make reference to a protestor who was shot to the jaw and who, according to him, is required to drink from a straw. Wolfe advised him that this injury too can be caused by a pellet depending on the range. “Are you the expert?” Justice Wolfe asked Williams.
Hearings were adjourned yesterday until October 15.
