Cops testify in police station chopping incident

THE TWO police officers who were injured when four men, wielding cutlasses, stormed the San Juan Police Sub-Station almost four years ago, yesterday gave evidence against two of the men who were charged with attempted murder and wounding with intent. The two men, 22-year-old Thurston Nedd and 34-year-old Stanley Henry, both of Febeau Village in Laventille, are before Madame Justice Paula Mae Weekes at the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court, charged with the attempted murder of PC Irwin Roberts and wounding Roberts and PC Marvin Hewitt with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Hewitt recalled seeing the men enter the room in single file and the man at the front, who he later identified as Henry, whipped out a relatively new cutlass from his waist, chopped Roberts and almost simultaneously fired a chop at him (Hewitt). Roberts was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he remained warded for three days. Under cross-examination by Henry’s attorney Larry Williams, Hewitt insisted that although everything happened quickly, he was able to remember Henry because he had looked at him for the entire minute and a half it took for the incident to unfold. The State will continue leading evidence when hearing resumes today.