KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two police constables charged with the fatal shooting of three men in Shrewsbury, Westmoreland, in 2013 were acquitted on three counts of murder following a four-week trial which ended in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Constables Damane Campbell and Kenroy Hinds were formally found not guilty after the presiding judge, Leighton Pusey, directed the jury to enter verdicts of acquittal, having considered no-case submissions put forward by the defence teams of both accused.

The police officers were charged with the killing of brothers Andrew and Tristan Brydson and their cousin Kingsley Green. The three men were allegedly shot and killed by the police at a shop in the Shrewsbury community on March 15, 2013.

Two firearms were recovered from the scene, an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun, said to have been in the possession of the deceased.

The incident at the time provoked significant unrest among residents of Shrewsbury, where protests erupted in the immediate aftermath of the killings. The demonstrations reflected deep tensions between the community and law enforcement, and the case remained a point of contention in the years that followed.

Based on the tension at the time, the case was transferred to the Trelawny Circuit Court and then to Kingston for the matter to be tried.

The matter was eventually placed before the Supreme Court, where it went through a four-week trial.

At the close of the prosecution’s case, defence attorneys for both accused made no-case submissions, a legal argument that the evidence presented by the Crown was insufficient to warrant a conviction. The judge, having considered those submissions, agreed and directed the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty on all three counts against both men.

Constable Campbell was represented by Peter Champagnie KC, Samoi Campbell and Sayeed Bernard, while Constable Hinds was represented by Jacqueline Samuels Brown KC and Zara Lewis.

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