WHEN George Alexander Porter enlisted in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) on November 26, 1956, no one, himself included, could have imagined that he would enter Jamaican history books as the first serving policeman to be convicted and sentenced to death for the offence of murder.

A jury of his peers — 12 men and women good and true — accepted the facts as presented by then Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Huntley Munroe, QC, that Porter, in the line of duty, not only shot and killed hotel bellhop Milton Cassels, but also rifled the pockets of the dead man and stripped him of his gold wrist watch.

The trial was sensational. Police barriers — around what is now known as Justice Square, coming all the way up to Barry Street to King Street, Temple Lane and onto Tower Street — were barely able to control the crowds. Some went to get a glimpse of Porter, others to try to enter the Supreme Court to hear bits of evidence for themselves, and some were just there for the excitement.

The No 1 Home Circuit Court was where the pieces of this amazing puzzle were being put in their respective slots, and it took time and patience to solve. And, what grief to the family of the victim and to Porter’s wife and family, as well. What a scar on the hitherto good name of the Constabulary! A sad day in Jamaica’s history, indeed.

But the question that was never asked was: Who was responsible for sending an obviously “drunk with liquor” policeman, armed with a gun out on duty, late at night, on patrol?

One would have imagined that the senior officers in charge would have taken such action as was necessary, eg putting Porter before the “Orderly Room” for him to answer in regard to his conduct in reporting to work late, drunk, and thereby inflict on him the required punishment. One would not expect a senior officer to aid and abet the commission of a crime. For it is my view, the sending out of a drunken policeman on the road at night, to patrol, armed with a gun, was not only a danger to himself, but a greater danger to the public, as happened in this case.

June 7, 1964 is a date Porter, then aged 34, would never forget, for more reason than one. It was his birthday and his wife had planned a party for him to celebrate the occasion. So good was the feeling that he failed to report for work on time, arriving at the Half-Way-Tree Police Station half-an-hour late and “drunk” to boot. Still, he was sent on patrol, armed with a gun. District Constable Gilbert Williams accompanied him armed with a baton.

But what was the reason for this patrol, mounted in the residential district of Chelsea Avenue in St Andrew? The Court was told later that a spate of robberies and burglaries had been taking place in the area, with particular reference to No 7 Chelsea Avenue. The two plainclothes policemen were expected to be in ‘ambush patrol’ mode as they set out at about 1:00 am.

Cassels, head bowed, was riding his bicycle southerly on Chelsea Avenue, without lights, when the two cops blocked him. A cab driver, Eustace Davis, testified that he was driving along Chelsea Avenue at about 2:00 am when he came round a bend and saw the two accused and another man, who turned out to be Cassels. Cassels was bawling: “Woi! Woi!”

He slowed and Cassels ran towards the cab begging for help. He tried to enter the cab, but Davis had a passenger and resisted the attempt. Cassels took off, chased by the two accused. Gunshots were fired; about five in all. The taximan told the court later that he saw Cassels fall to the ground. Shortly thereafter, he testified that he saw Williams bend over the fallen man and remove something which he soon discovered was a knife. The knife was handed over to Porter, whereupon he heard the police constable say: “Look what the man has, sir.”

The witness, however, said he had not seen Cassels with any knife, or anything at all in his hands, for that matter, when he tried to enter his cab.

Gun shots and loud cries

Other residents in the area told of hearing shots and loud cries rend the otherwise quiet surroundings. Some told of sirens and police activity following the shooting, which disturbed their early morning sleep. Some visited the scene; others peered from their windows.

Medical evidence given by Dr Noel March, government pathologist, revealed multiple abrasions and bruises to both elbows, and both defence areas of the forearms and ulnar areas of the hands of the deceased, which, in his opinion, could have been caused by a blunt instrument, such as a baton. Other injuries to the back and loin could have been caused from a blunt instrument or from a fall.

Dr March also found a deep H-shaped laceration which could have been caused by the butt of a revolver.

The deceased had been shot twice; once in the left shoulder, which deflected into the armpit. The other entered the right scapula (shoulder blade) and was deflected by the third rib, through the left lobe of the lung and the windpipe, and exited the chest. This injury, he told the Court, would have caused coughing up of blood within half-a-minute. Death was due to haemorrhage into the chest from this bullet wound, possibly aggravated by the head injuries.

The brown handled knife, alleged to have been used by the deceased, was introduced into evidence as an exhibit.

In his defence, Porter, made an unsworn statement from the dock. He claimed that when he stopped Cassels that morning, the bellhop jumped off his bicycle, drew a knife from his pocket and slashed at him several times. He said he retreated, fired two shots in the air to scare him, but Cassels kept advancing. He then shot Cassels in self-defence. Porter explained that he, at one point, had grabbed the deceased and hit him with his gun butt to disarm him.

Williams also gave an unsworn statement from the dock in which he claimed he was running some distance behind Porter and the deceased, and when he reached both men, the bell-hop was already on the ground.

The jury retired for 28 minutes and returned with unanimous verdicts:

Porter, guilty of murder.

Williams, guilty of manslaughter.

Porter was sentenced to death. Williams received a sentence of three years’ imprisonment at hard labour.

Porter’s wife visited the Supreme Court daily, bringing lunch for her husband and never failing to show her support for him. I was in the holding area of the cell block the day Porter was sentenced to death. I went there to see how he was holding up. Many detectives and other policemen were there offering sympathy and advising him to be strong. He appeared confident, as he said he felt he would triumph on appeal. His wife hugged him one last time before he was escorted to the waiting police vehicle, to an uncertain future.

Firstly, all his appeals, both local and overseas, failed. His seemingly loving wife changed her name and that of their child, and migrated. But fate smiled upon Porter. Just when he occupied the No 1 spot on Death Row awaiting execution, a pardon came.

The years have passed. We (my husband, retired Detective Assistant Commissioner Isadore ‘Dick’ Hibbert and I) are both writing our memoirs and are discovering that we each have information that, put together, completes many puzzles. This is one of them.

The journal of Detective Assistant Commissioner Isadore ‘Dick’ Hibbert (ret’d)

Near 12:30 am Porter showed up at the office of the Criminal Investigation Branch, reporting for duty. He was half-an-hour late.

He appeared drunk. Detective Sergeant Kinghorn was the sub-officer in charge for the night. After remonstrating with Acting Corporal Porter for being late, he insisted that Porter be dispatched on duty. Although of junior rank at that time, I pointed out to the detective sergeant that Porter was ‘drunk and incapable’ and it would not have been safe to dispatch him on patrol.

Sergeant Kinghorn responded: “Detective Inspector Marston left those instructions.”

A gun in the hands of a drunken cop is a very dangerous weapon, as you will see, as the facts unfold.

At/or about 6:00 o’clock the Sunday morning, I was shocked, but not surprised, to hear the news on radio that “Police shot and killed a bellhop employed at the Courtleigh Manor Hotel along Holborn Road. The victim was identified as Cassels this morning.”

I went to the police station to find all the senior officers and detectives assembled, looking grave. I was briefed in respect of the incident and instructed to get Porter to the office immediately.

I got to Porter’s home at/or about 9:30am to 10:00 am. He was asleep. I woke him up. He came out to the verandah. He appeared to be still under the influence of alcohol.

I said to him: “Porter, you know you shot and killed a man along Holborn Road this morning?”

He replied: “Dick, what you saying to me? Kill man along Holborn Road?”

I replied, “You are to come with me now to the station.”

He complied.

At the station, he was instructed by the senior officers to write a report on the shooting incident. It was indicated to Porter that he, being the senior man on duty, had to take responsibility.

I told Porter not to write the report in the way indicated, because I told him if he did, he would have an appointment with the hangman (gallows).

I was strongly rebuked by the detective inspector who asked: “You want to run my station?” I left the office. Porter wrote a report incriminating himself and which was subsequently used in evidence against him at his trial in the Home Circuit Court.

The deceased, Cassels, a man in his early 20s, was born in the parish of Manchester in the same district in which Porter grew up. Porter left the district when Cassels was about three years old; but the prosecution, led by eminent Queen’s Counsel Huntley Munroe, deputy director of public prosecutions at the time, alleged that Porter was carrying a grudge against Cassels from the days when they both lived in Manchester.

The trial, which was presided over by Chief Justice Sir Colin MacGregor and a jury, heard that after Porter had taken up patrol duty, the tranquility of the night was shattered by several gun shots. A number of residents peered through their windows and reported seeing a man being chased by two men. The man fell and some citizens reported that the man on the ground was being beaten with a baton.

The man on the ground was later identified as Cassels. He had just left work on his bicycle, which was without lights, on his way home when he was accosted by the two accused who were in plain clothes.

The Crown alleged that Cassels was shot in the back while running away. He died on the spot.

Citizens in the neighbourhood called 119 and reported the shooting. Waiters and other employees of the Courtleigh Manor Hotel reported that when Cassels left the hotel he was wearing a wristwatch. He had his wallet with money, including United States dollars, on him.

The first police patrol car on the scene was driven by Sergeant Barrieffe of Patrol Division, it was reported. Cassels’ property was removed, inclusive of his bicycle. These items were to be produced at the station and preserved as exhibits.

The police photographer on the scene took shots showing Cassels’ out-turned pockets. There was no record of the missing items.

The news media was abuzz. Politicians — Opposition Leader Norman Manley of the People’s National Party and E C L Parkinson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, of the Jamaica Labour Party — issued statements to the press, expressing shock and requesting a thorough and speedy investigation into the shooting.

DPP Munroe took a personal interest in the conduct of the investigation. He visited the Half-Way-Tree Police Station frequently, during which he vetted statements and gave his advice to the senior investigators. A post-mortem was performed on Cassels’ body by Dr Noel March, at which I was in attendance. Also present were Dr Kenneth McNeil, minister of health, and noted journalist John Maxwell.

Maxwell was alleged to have had a personal grouse against Porter, who had arrested him some time prior to the shooting incident, for a traffic breach along the Washington Boulevard. It was common knowledge that Maxwell had claimed that Porter had embarrassed him in the presence of his wife.

The post-mortem showed that Cassels was beaten. A bullet entry wound was discovered from the back of the body in the region of the right scapula. The cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage due to gunshot wound.

Up to that stage of the investigation, a motive for the shooting of Cassels had not been established. Neither was Cassels’ property accounted for.

The deputy DPP, on reviewing the photographs of the scene of the shooting, noticed that the pockets of the dead man were turned inside out and remarked: “This is it! Robbery was the motive!”

An important twist in this case was that the deputy DPP ordered exhumation of Cassels’ body. Another post-mortem was performed on the remains. The right scapula was removed and produced as an exhibit at the trial. As pointed out earlier, the first post-mortem showed a gunshot entry wound in the said scapula.

Porter was arrested and charged jointly with Williams for the murder of Cassels. The Police Federation obtained the services of Harvey DaCosta, Queen’s Counsel, for Porter’s defence. Williams was defended by Messrs Ian Ramsay, Queen’s Counsel and Howard Hamilton. The trial lasted over two weeks.

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury of 12 men and women convicted Porter for murder and Williams for manslaughter. Both men appealed. The appeal was heard in the Jamaican Court of Appeal with Justice Allan Lewis, the president, presiding. The legal representation at that point was: for Porter — Vivian Blake, QC, Harvey DaCosta, QC and Anthony M Spaulding (all now deceased); for Williams — Ian Ramsay, QC, Howard Hamilton and Maurice Tenn. (Only Hamilton is still alive). Munroe and Frank Phipps appeared for the Crown.

I attended throughout ,and listened attentively to the proceedings. I was very interested in the final outcome of the case, due to the fact that I was of the view that had Detective Sergeant Kinghorn heeded my advice not to send a drunken cop, Porter, on patrol that night, Cassels could be alive today, and Porter would not have found himself in such a precarious position. It was my hope that, somehow, Porter’s sentence would have been reduced to one of manslaughter. However, that was not to be.

At the end of DaCosta’s submissions, after the first three days, the president of the Court, Justice Lewis, remarked:

“Mr DaCosta, you have been speaking for three whole days and you have not said a word.”

Although I am not an attorney, I was of the same view, as I heard, up to that point, no sound argument on any ground to reverse the sentence of death imposed on Porter.

On the other hand, Ramsay, counsel for Williams, addressed the Court for approximately half-an-hour, in regard to his client’s conviction and sentence. Simply put, he was sharp and to the point, in his address seeking acquittal of his client. This is what Justice Lewis had to say:

“Mr Ramsay, it is always so refreshing to have you in these courts.”

Williams was acquitted. His appeal was allowed; conviction quashed; and the sentence of three years’ imprisonment at hard labour set aside. He was free to go.

The Appeal Court, on the other hand, upheld Porter’s conviction for murder and so the sentence of death was affirmed. Porter was escorted to the police holding area downstairs to be transported to the St Catherine District Prison, now known as the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, to await the governor general’s pleasure.

I had occasion to visit the St Catherine District Prison some time after. A convicted murderer was hanged earlier that day and George Porter was moved up to the No 1 position of convicts due to be executed. Fortunately for Porter, the sentence of death was commuted to life imprisonment after the governor general, sitting in Council, granted him pardon. After 15 years in prison, he was released.

Porter later migrated to the United States of America.

Post script: As stated before, a gun in the hands of a drunken cop is a recipe for disaster! It is hoped that the Jamaica Constabulary Force will learn something from the case of Acting Corporal George Porter.

Next week: Renford Solomon — A killer with a heart of stone