WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — The case against the three cops charged with the 2014 death of Mario Deane while in police custody has been stood down.

The matter was stood down for an hour when Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, who are all charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in a public office in connection with Deane’s death, made an appearance in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Thursday.

The hour was given to allow for the defence team to decide on the admission of certain pictures from a crime scene CD. The CD also contains videos.

On Monday, it was revealed that there were technical difficulties with the defence accessing a CD containing images taken by the crime scene examiner and head of the forensic department at the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) in 2014. The issue has since been resolved.

Upon the resumption of the case, the crown is hoping to complete its questioning of the forensic expert, who will continue with his testimony in chief shortly before noon.

The seventh witness — a detective constable — is expected to take that stand at 2:00 pm.

The allegations in the case are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. He sustained 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 when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Corporal Stewart instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

— Anthony Lewis