-UK ballistics expert
The ammunition retrieved from the bodies of the three men killed at Linden on July 18 did not match what is currently used by the police, UK ballistics expert Dr. Mark Robinson yesterday told the commission inquiring into the shooting.
“They were all 00 buck[shot] by size and weight but the exhibits recovered from the deceased and injured parties were pellets which had been coated with a light coating of copper, so there is a distinctive copper finish to these pellets whereas the pellets in the round of police ammunition was simply lead. So, I would regard these to be distinguishable from each other, Robinson, a Forensic Scientist of 25 years, testified, while noting that police told him that “00s had not been used since 2005.”
The commission is inquiring into the circumstances surrounding the shooting to death of Allan Lewis, Ron Somerset, and Shemroy Bouyea and the injury of several others near theMackenzie-Wismar Bridge on July 18, during a protest over the increase in electricity tariffs.
Robinson said that he was provided with a compactor shotgun, which he was told was standard police issue. “I had a look at the shotgun just to familiarize myself with weapons of that type that may have been involved. I was provided with a total of three rounds of ammunition, two of which I was informed are in current police use and the third cartridge I was told had not been used since 2005. One of the cartridges contained number 4 shots and the second cartridge contained number 6 shots, these are both small pellets and then the third cartridge contained 00 buck pellets but of a different type to those in question,” he explained.
According to Robinson, he conducted his tests at the ballistics section at the Guyana Police Force headquarters in Georgetown, after which he compiled a report. He noted that he had to review the post-mortem examinations reports that were compiled by Trinidad-based pathologist Professor Hubert Daisley and government Dr. Nehaul Singh before compiling his own.
“Each of the items I examined comprised either complete or fragments of lead buckshot pellets. These are pellets which would have been contained within a shotgun cartridge. It is not possible to give a calibre just from the examination of pellets but by far the most common calibre is 12-gauge and I’m certainly aware that a number of manufacturers make buckshot cartridges in 12-gauge. So, I’ve no reason to suspect that the calibre of gun used was anything but 12-gauge,” he noted.
Asked whether the pellets retrieved were 00 buckshot pellets, Robinson said, “They were. Pellets can be characterized by size and weight and each of the pellets was measured and conforms to shot size called 00 buck.”
Robinson was also shown exhibit 11, which is a photograph of police ranks in line formation at Linden on July 18, and Robinson identified two shotguns. He said that the shotguns seen are capable of firing 00 buckshot.
Audio
COI Hearing 16/10/12 – Dr Mark Robinson
Making reference to Robinson’s report, attorney Nigel Hughes, who is representing the interest of the families of the deceased, asked for an expansion on Robinson’s suggestion that the pellets did not ricochet from a road surface.
“Lead pellets are very soft, compared to other materials and if these strike a road surface, it would be badly deformed and it will also probably pick up traces of debris from the surface it struck. So, I examined each of the pellets for evidence of heavy deformation consistent with striking hard surface and I also looked for any evidence of embedded debris in the surface of the lead. I found no such evidence on any of the pellets I examined,” he relayed.
‘No other explanation’
Attorney for the police force Peter Hugh suggested to Robinson that based upon his investigations, he could not find evidence to support a contention that it was the police that fired who caused the injuries. “I’ve seen no specific evidence that will allow me to make such a conclusion, no,” Robinson responded.
“And similarly, you could not determine as a matter of fact that the shot that caused the injuries to deceased and other persons you interviewed was fired from a shotgun in the possession of a police?” Hugh asked.
“I’m unable to say that,” Robinson said.
“Similarly, any 12-gauge shotgun would be able to fire the 00 buckshot, the 4 shot or the 6 shot”, Hugh said.
Robinson agreed, noting that the 12-gauge cartridges are interchangeable to any 12-gauge weapon.
Speaking about his visit to Linden on Saturday, Robinson said he met with a few victims; namely, Janice Borgan, Hector Solomon Junior and Vladimir Glasgow. “Mrs. Borgan showed me where she was. We actually walked to the location and she showed me the location where she received a painful gunshot injury and she also pointed out to me the location nearby where Allan Lewis received injury. She indicated to me where the police were at the time,” he said, noting that measurements were taken from the edge of the road perpendicularly to the location where Borgan was located. He said that he was also shown a photograph of the wound in her back.
“Can you tell us whether the location she received injuries and the location where she pointed out the police were at the time firing, whether that is consistent with a person firing a loaded firearm at that location?” Hughes asked.
“The answer is yes but that is a difficult question. I was informed there was one injury hole in her back. From where she was standing, yes, she could have been viewed from the road, [and] so there would have been a clear line of sight,” Robinson answered.
Under further questioning by Hughes, the expert said that he does not believe that the pellets which were examined could be discharged from any other weapon other than a shotgun. “I have considered this possibility; whether a weapon would be available to discharge a single buckshot pellet is not really an option unless one is to modify or manipulate, in some specialist way, another weapon. So, I will say, really, no. There is no other explanation other than these were from a shotgun,” he stated.
He added that the shotgun he was shown at the police station was approximately three feet long with an 18.5 inch barrel. “And in fact in the photographs we can see the officers holding full length shotguns which could be 3-4feet long,” he said.
Based on discussions conducted by Robinson and the victims at Linden, Hughes asked whether he would be able to identify a possible range of locations where the person who discharged the 00 cartridge would have been located. Robinson said it was a difficult question to answer, since the general area is quite wide and open. “People could have been running or in a crowd in any orientation… if we had found a shotgun pellet in the wall for example, that might have given us quite a lot of information,” he said.
Commissioner KD Knight asked Robinson whether the shooter would have to be in close range for a number 6 buckshot to be lethal. “It is certainly true that if one considers delivering an immediate incapacitating shot, then one would need to be relatively close, perhaps 10 to 15 yards for such a shot,” he answered.
He added that in the case of someone shooting at a range of 100 yards, the shooter would be lucky if one of the nine pellets would have struck the person because the pattern would have expanded to an extent.
“What sort of pattern one would expect to find on pellets which have been fired so that they can ricochet, that’s double 0?” Hughes inquired. “If the shot was fired to ricochet, they would scatter low, they wouldn’t rebound high… they would be badly damaged, so wouldn’t fire through, so they might strike people in lower limbs, they would have less energy and they would have less penetrating power,” Robinson explained.
