A pivotal police witness concluded his four-day testimony in the high-profile Klansman Gang trial on Wednesday, maintaining his credibility despite intense scrutiny from defense attorneys. The detective corporal, whose identity remains protected, staunchly defended his professional conduct while acknowledging his involvement in multiple fatal shootings throughout his career.
The court proceedings at Kingston’s Home Circuit Division revealed operational details of a March 5, 2023 raid conducted by the now-disbanded Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC). The officer testified that during a confrontation at Spanish Town premises, he fatally shot an individual who had directly challenged him. This operation resulted in two arrests, including the Crown’s currently anonymous star witness.
Defense attorneys Denise Hinson and Kymberli Whittaker launched aggressive challenges against the witness’s credibility, alleging he manipulated evidence against all 25 defendants. They accused the marksman of using his documented history of over ten fatal shootings to intimidate former gang members into providing fabricated testimony. The defense further claimed the March shooting constituted an extrajudicial killing with a planted firearm.
The cross-examination revealed the officer was undergoing active investigation for the March incident and faced previous disciplinary scrutiny. Defense counsel particularly focused on the officer’s alleged reliance on intelligence from YouTube vlogger ‘Sir P’ and his program ‘Politricks Watch’ during operations.
The witness admitted to consuming Sir P’s content with colleagues but vehemently denied acting on its information before the March operation. His qualification that the vlogger became ‘a source’ of information only after the incident prompted reactions from engaged defendants.
Prosecution objections led to Supreme Court Justice Dale Palmer warning against conflating online commentary with official intelligence. The acting deputy director of public prosecutions subsequently conducted a rehabilitation examination, establishing the officer had never faced murder charges despite his shooting record and had been fully acquitted in a prior corruption case.
The trial continues Thursday with testimony from another police witness regarding a 2017 fatal incident in Cross Roads, St. Andrew.