COURTROOM SHOWDOWN

Defence attorney Hugh Wildman yesterday branded Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green a “stranger to the truth” and a “consummate liar” during a heated cross-examination in the Home Circuit Court murder trial of six policemen charged in connection with the fatal 2013 shooting of three men along Arcadia Drive in St Andrew.

Wildman launched repeated attacks on Green’s credibility as he challenged the minister’s account of what he claimed to have witnessed from the third floor of his then apartment, which overlooked the scene across the road.

Green has testified that he observed five police officers at the scene initially, with two more later arriving in a Kingfish police vehicle. During cross-examination, Wildman pressed him on the identity of those officers, suggesting that Inspector Vernal Thompson was the only officer who arrived in a Kingfish vehicle after the incident had already ended.

Green rejected that assertion, maintaining that two men arrived in the Kingfish vehicle before the incident concluded and that one of them fired at one of the now-deceased men, who appeared to have already been dead.

He told the court that he saw one man exit the vehicle wearing a beige shirt and police vest, and later observed another man dressed in a blue shirt and vest, though he admitted he did not actually see the second man exit the vehicle. Green said he could not identify either officer, explaining that his observations were limited to clothing and complexion.

“I could not speak with specificity as to how they looked,” Green told the court, noting that his observations were mainly limited to clothing and complexion.

Wildman, who had Thompson present in court, asked Green whether he saw Thompson exiting the vehicle. Green said he could not say, reiterating that he was unable to identify the men.

“I am suggesting to you that when you say two persons were in that vehicle, that is nothing near the truth and that you are a stranger to the truth,” Wildman said.

Green stood by his account and denied knowing Thompson, adding that he could not say whether they had attended university at the same time.

The defence attorney also focused heavily on the distances involved, questioning Green about the distance between his apartment window and a nearby wall, as well as the distance from his window to the location of the shooting. Green estimated the distance to the wall as about two car lengths, later conceding – after being shown a photograph – that it could have been closer to two-and-a-half car lengths. He rejected suggestions that the distance was approximately 70 feet.

“I can only speak to my estimation,” Green said, noting that he had not measured the distance.

Earlier in the trial, Wildman told Green that he was an embarrassment as a minister and accused him of lying about the distance. Green calmly denied the allegation.

“I am not a liar. I am not lying,” he said.

BARKING UP WRONG TREE

When Wildman suggested the distance across the road was about 79 metres, Green responded sharply: “You are the embarrassment. You are barking up the wrong tree, and no amount of personal attack will get me to change my estimate.”

Prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyke objected several times to Wildman’s characterisation of the witness, arguing that the descriptions were exaggerated and disrespectful. Justice Sonia Bertram-Linton warned Wildman to tread lightly and remain focused on the issues.

Wildman also disputed Green’s description of the scene, suggesting that his apartment window was not directly opposite the yard where the shooting occurred. Green insisted it was directly opposite, though he admitted he was not familiar with Evans Avenue.

Under further questioning, Green acknowledged that investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) never took him back to the scene and did not ask him to measure or verify distances.

Green testified that he heard a “barrage of shots” from multiple directions and observed police officers firing over a wall and inside the yard. He said he later saw a member of the Kingfish unit exit a vehicle and fire, and heard officers shouting, “Drop the gun, bwoy.” He maintained that the only people he saw with firearms were police officers.

Wildman suggested that a fourth armed man escaped along Evans Avenue during the incident.

Green flatly denied this.

“I never saw a shoot-out, never saw a fourth man, never saw a man run on to Evans Avenue,” he said.

When challenged on how he could identify one of the deceased as being of Indian descent from his vantage point, Green said he was able to make that observation.

“So if you can’t tell who the persons were from the height you were at, how could you see that one of the men had a bald head and was of Indian descent?” Wildman asked.

Green responded that he was able to make that observation, while reiterating that two men arrived in the Kingfish vehicle.

At one point, Wildman bluntly told the witness, “I suggest you saw nothing.”

Green rejected the accusation.

“I would not put myself through the time, stress and pain if I did not see anything,” he said.

Green also confirmed that he was never asked to attend an identification parade, explaining that, based on his statement, he would not have been able to identify any specific police officer.

Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and Constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose and Richard Lynch are on trial for murder in relation to the January 12, 2013 fatal shooting of Matthew Lee, Mark Allen and Ucliffe Dyer.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com