Businessman freed of gun- related charges after judge upheld no-case submission

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A 37-year-old businessman on Tuesday was freed of three counts of shooting with intent and one count of having a prohibited weapon after the trial judge upheld legal submissions made by his attorneys.Three police officers had alleged that on November 11, 2023 about 5:30pm, Neil Anderson, following a high-speed chase into Tivoli Gardens, alighted from a Toyota Hiace bus with seven other men, all of whom opened fire on the police. According to the lawmen, after the gun battle subsided, Anderson was found on the ground nearby suffering from gunshot wounds to his head. He was later taken to the Kingston Public Hospital for treatment and was subsequently charged. On inspection of the Hiace bus the police noted that the registration plates at the front and back were different.He was represented by attorneys-at-law King's Counsel Peter Champagnie and Sayeed Bernard when the matter was brought before the Supreme Court.However, during the trial and under cross-examination, the lawmen admitted that they did not recover any illegal firearm. They further conceded that although the alleged shooting between themselves and the gunmen took place at a distance of 16 to 20 feet in an open field, no damage was observed to either the police service vehicle or the Hiace bus. The investigating officer assigned to the case also conceded that apart from the spent casings recovered from the weapons of the police, no other spent casings were found at the scene.When pressed further under cross-examination, the lawmen who claimed they were party to the gun battle said they could not describe any of the other men who were in the company of Anderson that day. They said Anderson was the only one of the eight men they were able to give any description of in court or in their statement. It was suggested to the policemen that they had no justification for opening fire on Anderson and that they acted excessively because Anderson had not stopped at a police checkpoint. Anderson had maintained that he was not in the company of anyone that evening and was not in possession of any firearm. The trial judge Justice Leighton Pusey agreed with the no-case submission that was made by Sayeed Bernard and entered verdicts of acquittal on all counts.King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie notes that “this case represents another incident of an alleged confrontation between police and the citizenry which calls into question the excesses of police action. It also reemphasises the necessity for body worn cameras.”