A POLICE COVER-UP?

SENIOR COUNSEL Israel Khan yesterday accused his colleague Rangee Dolsingh of suggesting that there was a police cover-up in the shooting death of PC Carlos Guerra at the Old Police Headquarters in August 2005.

According to Khan, “Mr Dolsingh is alluding there is a cover-up, saying that only police officers gave statements surrounding the incident and that they were all from the AKS.”

Dolsingh jumped up and denied this, but Khan went further.

Khan added, “he (Dolsingh) came into this matter and started casting aspersions on (Sheldon) Narine. Then he said that Guerra and Narine went in the Nath kidnapping and about an unnamed policeman with $300,000. Why is he casting aspersions and innuendos about this?” Khan asked.

Khan who is representing PC Narine, said Dolsingh should not be allowed to use the inquest to cast aspersions on the police by suggesting that the police were covering up for the police.

Dolsingh brought the packed court to laughter when he described Khan as a jack in the box, only jumping up and down. “I am here to find out what the truth is. All I want is what happened,” Dolsingh told the court.

The clash of the lawyers took place while the investigating officer, ASP Nadhir Khan was in the witness box.

Coroner Sherman Mc Nicolls, presiding at the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court, is hearing the inquest into the death of PC Guerra, a member of the AKS. Nadhir Khan, who was attached to the Homicide Bureau in 2005, was detailed by the Assistant Commissioner (Criminal Intelli-gence and Investigations) on August 12, 2005 to go to the AKS offices where Guerra was shot. Instead of giving his evidence, his statement to the Coroner was tendered into evidence and he was made available for cross-examination.

Questioned by Dolsingh, Khan said he did not see any debris on the floor of the AKS offices. He said he went to Ward 13 of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital later that day where he saw PC Narine. “Narine told me he was clearing his gun. He told me he swore that he took out the magazine. He never told me he forgot to take out the magazine. He said in cleaning the gun, it went off accidentally.” In response to Israel Khan, Nadhir Khan said he conducted a meticulous investigation into the shooting. As far as he was concerned, there is no new evidence in the inquest.

From the evidence adduced, Khan said Narine was not criminally culpable for Guerra’s death. He said he submitted the file to the DPP and was advised that no charges be laid against Narine.

“The DPP did not ask me to charge anybody with any criminal offence. The next thing I knew was that my file was sent to the Magistrates’ Court to be placed before the Coroner.”

Khan said when he went to the AKS offices, there was no gun, no ammunition, no debris on the floor. But he saw blood and a hole in the ceiling. From witnessing the post-mortem, he learnt that Guerra received a single bullet.

Khan said Guerra had a single wound to the left forearm. He said the bullet exited the arm, went through the chest and exited at the back. He ruled out the shooting as a negligent act. Inspector Glen Hackett, of the CID, was on duty at Police Headquarters on the night Guerra was shot. He went to the hospital and spoke to Constables Nigel Bennett and Lenny Dowlat.

He did not see Guerra who was in the operating theatre. Hackett said he saw Narine with a wound to his left hand. Hackett said Narine told him that he had forgotten to detach the magazine from the mini Uzi weapon. Hearing continues tomorrow.