AT 22, Romario Brown is experiencing the most bittersweet moment of his life, his attorney says. In the midst of celebrating being freed of firearm possession and shooting charges, he has been left with an injury that affects his ability to earn a living, having been shot in the back by cops.

On Thursday, the Jamaica Observer spoke with attorney-at-law Mikael Lorne, who represented Brown in his trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston. The matter was thrown out last Friday.

“His life has changed and he is not capable of keeping a job. Our plan now, having been successful in the criminal court, is to pursue civil remedies on his behalf. We are planning to sue the Government and the policemen too,” Lorne shared.

The attorney said his client has to be using a cane to walk, even as he tries to be more independent. “Just imagine you are 22 and have to walk with a cane and it is not for style, but because you are dependent on it,” Lorne lamented.

Brown was shot and injured on May 6, 2023.

Lorne shared that based on the police version of events, a police team, acting on intelligence, went on an operation in Delacree Park, St Andrew.

“They said they were led by intelligence re firearms, etcetera. This was about 11:00 pm. Upon entering the community, the police said they saw a group of men and they shouted, ‘Police’ and the men ran. Shots were allegedly fired by the men, but the police couldn’t tell the court who fired. They [chased] some men and they claimed that more shots were fired and they returned fire and my client was injured.“

He said his client was shot by a rifle, and the bullet hit him in his lower back, damaging his hip.

“Right now he can’t walk properly. He can’t sit or stand for too long. Everything is a bother. Right now he is unemployed. He used to work as a labourer. He also used to do other jobs as well but he can’t hold a job at the moment because he can’t stay in one position for too long and he can’t really lift anything,” Lorned pointed out.

Based on his client’s version of the events, Lorne said the police went into the community and began firing indiscriminately.

“They went into the community and I don’t know how or why, but they started shooting and shot the youth. A story was given that didn’t make sense so the case was thrown out by the chief justice after the second [prosecution] witness, because they were giving conflicting stories. If the third witness was allowed to take the stand, we believe he would have given a totally different version as well,” said the attorney.

Lorne said his client could have possibly met his demise, were it not for community members on the ground who were videotaping parts of the incident.

“He said that he was lucky that other people were in the community while the police were there. They found him under a car and … because people were there videotaping, they believe that is why [he was spared],” said the lawyer.

“The young man now needs to undergo some serious levels of physiotherapy to get back to his best capabilities, and we also need to do an assessment through an orthopaedic surgeon,” he added.