While a woman claims that the police tortured her to sign to a statement that she knew Shaka Chase and had seen him at the scene of Romain Cleto’s shooting, the police yesterday dismissed this.
Natasha Blackman, a resident of North Cummings-burg, told reporters on Saturday that it was under duress she signed a declaration that she knew Chase for a number of years and that she saw him on night of Cleto’s shooting at the crime scene.
Her ordeal she said begun on Wednesday afternoon sometime after 2 pm. She said she was picked up at home by police and taken to CID Headquarters, Eve Leary for questioning into a robbery. When she there she said that she was taken to a room and told that she was wanted for questioning into the murder of a police. “I was shocked I want to know what murder?” she said.
She informed that she had a concretised alibi for the 27th when Cleto was killed since she was at a wedding reception early in the evening then returned home changed and proceeded to ‘Cooler Fete’ held at the National Stadium. She said while she was going there she saw police barricades on High Street and wondered what had happened.
At Eve Leary, she said, she was asked if she knew Shaka Chase and she said she replied in the negative as while she may have heard of different Shakas she did not know one name Chase. Police, she said, were angered and repeatedly asked her about Chase and a man she had once shared a relationship with. She said while admitting she knew the man, she did not know Chase. A senior police who was in the room left, she said, telling those remaining to “do whatever they want to do with me” she said. It was then the torture began.
““A fine (slim) tall one, who came and arrested me, threw methylated spirits on me and another short buffy one, they had a shock thing and they started to shock my whole skin for me to talk… The people end up putting a black bag over my head and started to beat me and one of them held on to my hair and said if I was playing I did not want to talk, he would shoot me in my mouth,” she said.
Blackman showed reporters what appeared to be burns on her hands and body.
Further, she claimed, the police told her they had picked up her teenage daughter, who was scheduled to write CSES exams and had taken her to the East La Penitence Police Station.
She said they told her that her child will not be writing examinations should she refuse to sign a document.
“I couldn’t take this thing no more. I was bawling. I tell them alright I gon sign anything y’all want, just stop,” she said.
With that the police took three pre-written pages and told her to affix her signature at the bottom, which she did. She said she was told that they would keep close watch on her and she was let go.
Contacted yesterday Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said that the woman was interviewed during the daytime and that a statement was taken from her on Wednesday. “That was since Wednesday.
Did she complain to anyone? Did anyone see the injuries she talked about?” he asked.
