SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — A Crown witness in the Mario Deane trial on Tuesday testified how the sound of a body hitting the floor and the sight of blood splattering had prisoners creating such a commotion that the cops on duty, who had earlier ignored calls for help, were finally forced to act.

The witness, who was in custody at the time of the incident, also described Deane as “battered, bloody and unresponsive”, open wounds with blood flowing on his swollen face as he was removed from the cell on a stretcher by paramedics.

He also said the three cops on trial later asked him not to say anything as they could lose their jobs.

The three accused are District Constable Marlon Grant, Corporal Elaine Stewart, and Constable Juliana Clevon, who are all charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

The man, the Crown’s eighth witness, told the court that approximately 15-20 minutes following a routine muster of the cell block by the three cops, a new prisoner [Deane] was taken to the block and placed in cell number one. The man said the cops had a short conversation with the prisoner before leaving the block for the station’s main building.

While a time was not given, the witness told the court that the three cops later returned to the cell block and went to cell number one where they had placed the prisoner. The witness, who was in a nearby cell, said he could hear something about bail being mentioned to Deane before the cops took him out of the cell and escorted him to the main office building.

According to the witness, at this point he could hear a loud noise — like someone arguing — coming from the office building.

The man said the cops later exited the building with the prisoner following, and he observed the prisoner being hit with a baton while he was in the courtyard. He told the court that Grant, while holding onto the prisoner’s neck and inflicting blows to his lower body, said, “Ah diss you ah diss the police?”

The witness, in his testimony in chief, said the prisoner was then taken to the cell block and this time around, placed in another cell — one containing at least three whose behaviour made those around them assume they were mentally ill. He said before departing with the two other cops, Stewart turned to the prisoner and said, “You don’t have any manners.”

The witness said the prisoner replied, “What did I do? Ah bail mi go for and I said, ‘Mi don’t like police.’ Ah dat you ah punish me for?”

The witness said he heard crying, followed by Stewart saying, “Ah dead him fi dead.”

Continuing his testimony, the witness said after the cops left the cell block he and other cellmates tried on numerous occasions to communicate with those in the cell that housed Deane but there was no response. He said they even called out. “Bailer Man” — a name given by prisoners to people who are up for bail — but there was no answer. He testified that approximately 10 minutes later he heard someone being hit.

The witness said he and his cellmates again tried calling out to those in the cell, without success. He said after about a minute and a half he could hear the new prisoner saying, “Mi ah nuh bad man.” Despite this, the witness said the beating intensified and became louder.

The witness said he and his cellmates then asked what was going on in the cell, and after receiving no reply they started kicking the grille door to get the attention of the police. After about three minutes he observed the cops coming out of the main building and using expletives as they asked what was happening.

The witness said he told Stewart from his cell door that it appeared the prisoner she placed in the cell with the men who appeared to be of unsound mind was being beaten.

According to the witness, Stewart’s response was, “What the [expletive] you ah call me for?”

He said the cops then returned to the main building.

The witness said the beating continued before he heard something heavy, like a body, fall to the floor followed by the words, “Please don’t kill me. I am not a bad man.”

The witness said he was standing at his cell door and, after a minute, he heard something smash into the door of the nearby cell. He said he saw what appeared to be blood splash onto the corridor. The witness said at this point he and other cellmates started shouting and kicking the grill door to get the attention of the cops. He said other inmates on the first and second floor of the cell block joined in, creating a deafening sound.

He said the cops came out of the main building and headed towards the cell. He said Stewart dropped her baton and the cell keys while her phone almost fell.

“She looked confused and frightened,” the witness said.

He added that Grant hit his baton against the wall and used an expletive while saying, “Ah wah dis.”

As for Clevon, he said she was quiet and looked confused.

The witness said Stewart told the other two cops that an ambulance should be called. He said Stewart later removed three of the men from the cell in question, leaving one behind. The men were placed in other cells — one on the first floor and the other two upstairs.

The witness said the cops left and returned with a bucket, mop, liquid soap and gloves, took them to the cell, handed it to the man that remained in the cell, and said something to him. The witness said he observed the man making more than one trip to the bathroom with the bucket to get fresh water.

The witness told the court that about 20 minutes later the three cops — in the order of Stewart, Grant and Clevon — came separately to his cell and told him not to say anything to investigators because of their fear of losing their jobs. The man said he assured them that he would not say anything.

At this point, Grant and Clevon were observed smiling.

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 Stewart, who has an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.