Ex-Inmate Says Cop Tried to Silence Him After Mario Deane Beating

Westmoreland, Jamaica — A former inmate of the Barnett Street Police Station lock-up in St James, where Mario Deane sustained fatal injuries nearly 11 years ago, maintained his account on Tuesday of a police officer’s alleged involvement in the incident.

During his continued cross-examination in the Westmoreland Circuit Court, the witness firmly repeated claims that Constable Juliana Clevon had approached him following the beating on August 3, 2014, urging him not to speak about what had occurred. The beating led to Deane’s death three days later, while he was in police custody on a minor ganja possession charge.

Attorney Dalton Reid, part of the defence team for Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Clevon and Marlon Grant, attempted to challenge the witness’s credibility. Reid suggested that Clevon had left the police station in the ambulance with Deane and therefore could not have spoken to the witness as alleged. However, the former inmate rejected the assertion and stood by his original testimony.

The witness was also shown images on a laptop that depicted the entrance to the cell block. He refuted the defence’s suggestion that he would not have been able to see the reception area from his cell, maintaining that he had a clear view through the cell’s grille.

Under re-examination by the prosecution, the witness revealed he had been pressured by police officers into giving a statement about the incident. He also distanced himself from parts of a statement attributed to him in a report given to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM).

The trial against Stewart, Clevon, and Grant resumed today. The three are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in public office in connection with Deane’s death. Stewart faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, with prosecutors alleging she ordered the cell cleaned before INDECOM investigators could examine the scene.

Mario Deane’s death sparked national and international outrage, prompting calls for greater oversight of police custody procedures and human rights protections for detainees in Jamaica.

The trial continues.