R Hotel no-movement day footage possibly lost – attorney

Livern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter

R Hotel attorney Peter Champagnie says some of the footage from a crucial no-movement day closed-circuit television recording may have been lost.

The police are today expected to access footage from the New Kingston-based hotel captured on September 14, the no-movement day on which resigned Agriculture Minister Floyd Green and others attended a birthday party.

“It is regrettable that the police waited so long to seek this order because as I understand it, some data, their shelf life is not very long and it may have been over-written,” Champagnie told The Gleaner.

He said, initially, investigators had requested that the footage be preserved under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).

However, there is no provision in law for this.

Champagnie said some time elapsed before the police appropriately submitted their request under the Cybercrimes Act.

On September 27, deputy commissioner of police Fitz Bailey told RJR's Hotline that the police first visited the hotel on September 17, that's three days after the controversial party.

READ: Outrage as Floyd Green, councillor toast at party to no-movement day

The investigators reportedly verbally requested the footage but were told that the hotel had to consult with its attorney.

Bailey said the police wrote to the hotel on September 20, formally requesting the closed-circuit footage and followed up with an email two days later and with a call on September 23.

But Champagnie contends that the proper request for the R Hotel footage was made two weeks after the September 14 event.

The amended request under the appropriate Act was submitted “a couple days ago”, he added.

“I'm lamenting the fact that the police didn't act any quicker because we were always willing to hand over,” said Champagnie.

The attorney explained that the hotel had to go to court to seek clarification because it was of the view that the first request by the police was vague and was not grounded in the correct legislation.

Following the controversial party, Green, in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, admitted that his attendance at the event with other maskless persons was “wrong”.

Green's adviser Gabrielle Hylton and Mona Division Councillor Andrew Bellamy also attended the party.

“No matter how briefly, and regardless of the circumstances, I should never have participated in any engagement that could indicate a lack of appreciation of the difficult and serious realities that now face the entire country,” Green said.

Meanwhile, Bailey has suggested that investigators might not be able to bring charges against Green because of recent changes to the DRMA.

Bailey asserted that an August 11 amendment gives unconditional exemption for certain categories of individuals: the governor-general, members of both Houses of Parliament and members of the judiciary.

The September 14 no-movement day was among measures implemented by the government to contain a deadly third wave of COVID-19 in Jamaica.

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