Mario Deane was upset when taken into custody in 2014, cop testifies
SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — A police corporal who was stationed at the Barnett Street lock-up when Mario Deane was murdered in 2014 testified Wednesday that Deane was upset when he was taken into custody.
“In terms of the lock-up administration and policy, what observations did you make, if any, of Mario Deane at the time?” questioned the Crown counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
“He was upset,” replied Corporal Orville Williams, who is now stationed at the Anchovy Police Station in St James. He did not provide additional information.
Williams was the Crown’s third witness who gave his evidence in chief during the trial being held in the Westmoreland Circuit Court.
The cops on trial are Corporal Elaine Stewart, and constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant. They are all charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in a public office.
Williams told the court that he knew Stewart and Clevon during the four months he was based at Barnett Street Station leading up to the August 3 beating incident. He also identified the two in court on Wednesday.
He also told the court that on the day in question, instructions were given to Clevon to prepare a bail bond for the prisoner, Mario Deane.
On the other hand, he said Stewart had released him from his shift at 8:00 am on the day in question.
Williams was on a several-hour shift from August 2 to 3, where he was the cell supervisor responsible for ensuring the welfare, hygiene, food, and security of the prisoners.
Williams, who has training in psychology and law, also explained how the police are informed that there may be an incident that needs attention. He noted that when a cell guard visits a cell, they would be informed that there is an emergency or if prisoners make noise to alert of an emergency.
The trial will resume on Thursday at 12:00 noon.
The allegations are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. Deane received severe injuries to his brain, which left him in a coma. He died three days later at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.
It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station at the time when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Stewart instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.
