THE ‘hero cops’, whose murder trial ended recently with a hung jury in the Home Circuit Court, will have to wait a while longer for a retrial date.

When the three appeared in court on Wednesday they were told to return on May 22, as the transcript of their March trial was not ready. The defence had requested copies of the transcript before setting a date for the second trial.

The cops – Constables Kirk Nunez and Lerone Witter of the Elleston Road Police Station, and District Constable Ukent Edwards – were branded heroes by Bull Bay, St Andrew residents when they shot dead wanted man Noel Barnes on August 27, 1999.

Barnes was wanted by the police for several murders, rapes, shooting and robbery in and around the community.

In their unsworn statements to jurors, the men said they were forced to fire on Barnes after he fired at them twice, while they were searching for him in bushes in the Bito Bull Bay community at nightfall.

Barnes was hit four times to the face and elsewhere on the body and a handgun containing two spent shells and four live rounds taken from his hand, the court was told.

But the prosecution said that the men murdered Barnes, whose hands had no trace of gunpowder residue. Dr M P Sarangi testified then that the state of the wounds to Barnes’ face indicated that the bullets might have come from above.

He said also that the two gunshot wounds to Barnes’ right hand appeared to be inflicted while the hand was in a right “blocking position”, making it impossible for him to be clutching a gun.

During the trial some placard-bearing residents from Bull Bay protested outside the court, demanding the release of the cops.