Retired cop: I made a mistake

A RETIRED police officer yesterday claimed he had made an error while filling out an identification parade form which stated the position in which the nine persons on the parade he conducted were standing. Retired Insp Leroy Taylor was being cross-examined by defence attorney Larry Williams before Madame Justice Paula Mae Weekes at the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. Willaims is representing one of the accused, Stanley Henry, who was one of the nine on the parade on December 3 1996, at the Port-of-Spain CID.

Henry, 34, and 22-year-old Thurston Nedd, both of Febeau Village, Laventille  are charged with attempting to murder PC Irwin Roberts and wounding Roberts and PC Marvin Hewitt with the intent to do grievous bodily harm. The two, with others, allegedly stormed the San Juan Police Sub-station armed with cutlasses on the morning of November 16 1996, and chopped the officers in the charge room. According to Taylor, he had filled out the required information on the form after conducting the parade by using notes he had taken during the parade. Unfortunately, he said, an error was made on his part and the man, Supt Michael Lambert, whom Hewitt had pointed out in position number four, was really standing in position five. The man who had been at position four, Taylor said, was someone named Carver Thomas. He admitted he “may not have followed procedure” because he knew most of the nine men on the parade.

Three other witnesses, Asp Corrier, Lambert and PC Kenneth Dates also gave evidence. Under cross-examination by Nedd’s attorney Wayne Sturge, Dates denied allegations he and other officers had gone “up into Febeau Village to smoke out some Bobo Shanties” and had arrested Nedd at around midday on that day, when he (Nedd) was coming out of a river “with a white pig tail bucket in his hand.” In his evidence-in-chief, Dates said he and Lambert had intercepted Nedd on Saddle Road San Juan, after they had pursued him and his cohorts after the incident at the station. After Corrier’s evidence, the State, represented by Jeron Joseph and Joy Balkaran, closed its case and Weekes overruled the no-case submission made by Williams. Hearing continues today.