WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — The presiding judge in the trial of the three cops charged with the incident in which Mario Deane was fatally beaten while in police custody in 2014 has ruled against the admissibility of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Lock-up Administration Policy and Procedures document.

The document deals with the treatment and welfare of people taken into custody up to the point of their release.

The Crown had tried on numerous occasions in the past to have the document admitted into evidence without success. Supreme Court Judge, Justice Courtney Daye had reserved judgement on the matter.

As promised on Friday, the outstanding matter was the first thing that was addressed by Daye on Monday.

The lawyer representing two of the accused cops, Martyn Thomas, argued that the document cannot be authenticated.

“We further submit that the document is an abstract from the internet and has not been properly authenticated as a genuine police document that has been certified,” stated Thomas in his submission to the court.

Citing the testimony from two police personnel earlier in the trial — zone commander for Barnett Street Police Station in 2014, DSP Kevin Francis and sub-officer on duty, Corporal Orville Williams — the Crown contended that evidence put forward by the two men captures that the policy is known and was shared with others.

However, Justice Daye in his ruling noted that something more is needed for the document, taken from the internet, to be admissible.

Daye noted that while the document is relevant, verification is needed.

“The ruling of the court can be only in one way. [We] will not admit this document Mark ‘C’ which was taken from the internet as a document and has not been authenticated,” stated Justice Daye.

The judge, in his ruling, made clear that the ruling of the court is not a statement about whether or not the prosecution has established a duty of care.

The ruling of the court has cleared the way for the crown to commence its submission to the jury for consideration in deciding the case.

The three accused are Corporal Elaine Stewart and District Constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon, all of whom are 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 (Indecom).

— Anthony Lewis