Court to hear application for acceptance of certain images in Mario Deane case
WESTMORELAND, St James — A former senior investigator from the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) is expected to continue with her testimony in the Mario Deane case on Tuesday.
The former senior investigator, who is the crown’s 15th witness in the case against the three cops charged with the incident in which Deane was fatally beaten while in police custody, started her testimony in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Monday.
She told the court that an alleged case of assault came in before Indecom on August 3, 2014. She said she initiated an investigation that entailed interviews with the police, civilians, witnesses, and visits to the location of the offence at the Barnett Street Police Station.
Among those interviewed or statements collected are Deane’s mother, Mercia Fraser; two men who were in cell number four with Deane at the time of the incident, and a cautioned interview with three of the accused cops, who were later arrested and charged by the senior Indecom investigator.
The three accused cops are Corporal Elaine Stewart, District Constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon, who are all charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.
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.
Meanwhile, the crown is also expected to make an application for the acceptance of certain images.
The case will resume at 10:30 am.
— Anthony Lewis

