Indecom crime scene expert admits he is uncertified in cops’ murder trial

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A witness purporting to be a crime scene reconstruction expert, who has been contracted by the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) since 2010, has admitted during the murder trial of six policemen in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston that he has no certification in the science of reconstructing crime scenes. The six cops on trial are Sergeant Simroy Mott and Corporal Donovan Fullerton, along with constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose, and Richard Lynch. The six are being tried in relation to the January 12, 2013 shooting deaths of Matthew Lee, Ucliffe Dyer and Mark Allen who were killed in an alleged shootout with the police on Acadia Drive in Barbican St Andrew. Corporal Fullerton is also charged with making a false statement to Indecom. During cross-examination by attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman, who represents four of the cops, the reconstruction expert, who is a witness in the case, was asked if the concept of crime scene reconstruction is considered to be an established science. The witness admitted that it is an established science. Wildman probed whether he had anything to show which could prove that he has accomplished certification in crime scene reconstruction. “Currently no,” the witness responded, explaining that the programme which provided certification in reconstruction was suspended before he received his certificate. He claimed that he completed training and that work is being done to re-establish the certification programme. “I took the test, passed the test, then they removed the test,” he said, confirming again that he has no certification to show his qualification in crime scene reconstruction and that he did not explain that to Indecom when they employed him. He told the court that he did know the criteria Indecom used to employ him. He also said that he could not refute that the cops on trial did or did not fire their weapons in self-defence. He shared that he was one of the few persons to have taken the crime scene reconstruction test and passed it, however, after about seven years the organisation that did the certification withdrew the programme and since that time, no other organisation has offered the certification in the course. “Look, my training was never suspended. The programme that certifies crime scene reconstruction suspended its certification programme,” the witness told Wildman. “So you are not certified in crime scene reconstruction?” Wildman asked. “I would agree with that,” the witness said. The witness explained that the request for a reconstruction of the scene at Acadia came in October 2015. “This incident occurred when?” Wildman asked. “2013,” the expert said, prompting the attorney to ask him to confirm that the request was in fact made two years after the incident. The witness said yes and explained that to be as a result of the ballistics certificate not being prepared until 2015. Wildman asked him if he went to the scene of the incident in 2013. “I absolutely went to the scene in 2013,” the witness said. “So you went to the scene in 2013 on whose direction?” The witness explained that it was on the direction of representatives of Indecom. “So you are saying that you commenced the scene reconstruction in 2013?” “That is my evidence,” the witness said. He added that from looking at the record, he went to the scene two weeks after the incident. “It took almost two years to get the ballistic report, to get that data. When the data was available, Mr Warren Williams came to me and requested the continued reconstruction. When that request came, I did not go to the scene again,” he said. The witness explained that he looked at the post mortem report after the investigating officer from Indecom requested a comprehensive reconstruction. The expert accepted that if an individual goes to medical school and the programme is aborted, he would not be considered a doctor. He told the court that his introduction to Jamaica came in 2010 following the security forces incursion in Tivoli Gardens where more than 70 people were killed by the security forces. He explained that Indecom reached out to him at that time.