(Trinidad Express) Police Sgt Khemraj Sahadeo and PCs Renaldo Reviero, Glenn Singh, Roger Nicholas, Safraz Juman and Antonio Ramadin are free.
They were found not guilty of the murders of three people yesterday afternoon.
It took less than an hour for the jury to return not guilty verdicts.
The officers had been accused of murdering Abigail Johnson, 23, Alana Duncan, 28, and Kerron Eccles, 26, on the night of July 22, 2011, at Rochard Douglas Road, Moruga, as the three were in a car making their way to purchase barbecue.
While driving along the road, the car was fired upon by the officers.
The State contended that Johnson, who was driving the car, was killed on the spot, while Duncan was shot in the ankle, and Eccles in the hand.
While they did not initially sustain life-threatening injuries, the prosecution contended that the two were placed in one of two police vehicles and taken to a gravel track off the M2 Ring Road, in Woodland, and executed.
They were then placed inside the vehicle and taken to the Princes Town Health Facility, where they were pronounced dead.
Defence attorneys suggested the occupants of the car first opened fire on the officers, resulting in them returning fire in self-defence. They also challenged the State’s contention that there was a second scene, arguing all three victims were fatally shot at Rochard Douglas Road.
Appearing on behalf of the officers are Israel Khan, SC, Ulric Skerritt and Arissa Maharaj; while special State prosecutors Gilbert Peterson, SC, and Elaine Greene, along with Giselle Ferguson-Heller and Katiesha Ambrose-Persadsingh, appear for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
