Firearms expert

FIREARMS expert Derrick Sankar said yesterday the gun which was used by PC Sheldon Narine on the night when his colleague PC Carlos Guerra was shot and killed did not accidentally go off.

Sankar, a scientific officer II at the Forensic Science Centre, told Coroner Sherman Mc Nicolls that the mini Uzi weapon was fully functional.

“I was not able to induce an accidental discharge from this firearm,” Sankar told the court.

Sankar was one of two witnesses called at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday in the inquest into the death of PC Guerra on August 12, 2005.

Guerra was shot at the offices of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad at the old Police Headquarters in Port-of-Spain and later died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Israel Khan SC and Ulric Skerritt are representing Narine whose conduct is being called into question.

Rangee Dolsingh SC is looking after the interest of the Guerra family, while Inspector Kenneth Cordner seeks the interest of the Police Service.

Hearing continues today when Narine will give his version of the incident.

While Sankar stated that the gun did not accidentally go off, he could not say if the trigger was deliberately pulled. The trigger, he added, had to be pulled for the gun to go off.

Asked by Dolsingh how he would disarm the mini Uzi, Sankar said he would first release the clip and pull out the magazine.

Then he would eject the cartridge if there was one in the chamber of the gun. It is only then, he would determine that the weapon is safe.

Questioned by Rangee Dolsingh SC:

DOLSINGH: For someone to shoot himself with the mini Uzi, how is that possible?

SANKAR: He would have to point it at himself. (Narine was shot on the left hand during the same incident when Guerra was fatally shot.)

DOLSINGH: In clearing the gun, do you have to put your finger on the trigger?

SANKAR: No. If you touch the trigger on A mode (automatic mode), all the rounds in the magazine will be fired off. But without the A mode, if you touch the trigger, maybe just three rounds will go off.

DOLSINGH: For a firearm to go off, must it be cocked?

SANKAR: Yes.

Questioned by Israel Khan SC:

KHAN: How many rounds can this gun fire in a minute?

SANKAR: About 600 rounds a minute.

KHAN: So how many rounds can fire off in a second?

SANKAR: About ten rounds.

KHAN: For six rounds?

SANKAR: A fraction of a second.

KHAN: You can have accidental discharge through human error?

SANKAR: Yes.

KHAN: Can you say if you can have human error through gross negligence, or mere negligence?

SANKAR: I can’t say.

KHAN: Do you ever get tired?

SANKAR: I am tired right now.

KHAN: How heavy is the mini Uzi?

SANKAR: 2.8 kilos.

KHAN: And the magazine?

SANKAR: 170 grammes. So the gun and the magazine could be about three kilos.

KHAN: How many tests did you do to determine that the gun did not accidentally go off?

SANKAR: About four.

Questioned by Inspector Cordner:

CORDNER: What about a bullet that ricochets...?

SANKAR: A bullet which ricochets loses its energy on impact, it slows down rapidly. It all depends on the degree. If the gun is aimed in the air and it goes off, it will strike at a certain angle, but it will lose its impact.

The other witness was Dr Eastlyn Mc Donald-Burris, forensic pathologist at the Forensic Science Centre. She said she conducted a post-mortem examination on Guerra’s body on August 12, 2005.

Burris found two injuries on Guerra’s left forearm.

She found a perforated wound on the lateral part of the forearm.

She also found an exit wound on the forearm. There was no damage to the bone on the forearm.

There was also a wound to the left side of Guerra’s chest. The bullet which passed through the left side, ruptured the liver, spleen, both kidneys, stomach causing haemorrhaging in the left and right sides of the chest.

There was also an exit wound just under the right armpit.

Burris found no gunpowder on the body. She could not say how far the shooter was from Guerra.

She did not find the bullet in the body. She confirmed that all these injuries were caused by just one bullet.