Proceedings at murder trial of six cops again interrupted over heated exchange between Wildman and prosecutor

Proceedings in the Home Circuit Court were briefly interrupted this afternoon when the judge summoned prosecution and defence attorneys for a brief in-chambers meeting after defence counsel Hugh Wildman made an unflattering comment about lead prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyke.

The interruption came during the cross-examination of Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, an eyewitness in the fatal police shooting of three men on January 12, 2013, along Acadia Drive in St Andrew.

Green was giving evidence in the trial of six police officers charged in connection with the incident.

Wildman was being challenged by Pyke over a suggestion posed to Green.

Wildman told Pyke that he was surprised she had the “temerity” to speak about conduct when she herself had been condemned for improper conduct.

Pyke, who had been seated, rose, pointed her finger saying, “Counsel must be bridled!”

Before excusing the jury and summoning the attorneys to her chambers, the judge told Wildman that his remark was improper.

He responded, “But she know I am talking the truth.”

Green, the Minister of Agriculture and an eyewitness to a fatal police shooting which left three men dead on January 12, 2013, on Acadia Drive in St Andrew, was at the time being cross-examined during the trial.

During his evidence-in-chief, Green testified that from his third-floor apartment window, he observed that one of the three men was of Indian descent.

According to his testimony, the men had stopped in a car in front of a yard directly opposite the building in which he lived.

During cross-examination, Wildman challenged Green’s account, suggesting that from his vantage point, he could not have seen across the yard and that his view was limited or awkward.

Green maintained that he could see clearly and that nothing obstructed his view.

Wildman then suggested that it was physically impossible for Green to identify a person of Indian descent from where he was positioned. Green replied, “I could see.”

Continuing, Wildman said, “that notion of Indian descent is what you caught long after the incident in discussion with your friend.”

Pyke objected, arguing that defence counsel should not introduce assertions he could not prove and demanded that he either present evidence or apologise.

Wildman then made the remark which prompted the judge’s intervention.

Earlier in the trial, Wildman had told Green that, as a minister, he was an embarrassment while questioning him about the distance from his window to the wall at his apartment.

Wildman suggested that Green was a “consummate liar” for claiming the distance was about two car lengths or 24 feet.

Green had earlier indicated that he could not say definitively whether the height of the building, as suggested by Wildman, was 30 feet.

Pyke, however, had objected to Wildman’s description of the witness, arguing that he was exaggerating and being disrespectful.

Justice Sonia Bertram-Linton, as a result, warned Wildman to tread lightly.

Green then responded that he was not a liar and was giving an estimate, as he had not measured the distance.

Wildman further suggested that the distance was 70 metres, which Green disputed.

Wildman later showed Green a document and asked whether he was still maintaining his estimate, to which Green replied that it was maybe 2 and a half car lengths but not more.

This exchange prompted Wildman’s "embarrassment" comment.

Pyke again objected, saying the remark was out of line, prompting the judge to rule that she would not allow it and again warned Wildman to stick to the issue.

Wildman then suggested that the distance from Green’s window to the yard across the road was 79 metres and not six car lengths as Green had estimated.

During the exchange, Green told Wildman that he was an embarrassment and was barking up the wrong tree.

“No amount of personal attack will get me to change my estimate,” Green said.

Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton and Constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose and Richard Lynch are on trial in connection with the controversial fatal shooting of Matthew Lee, Mark Allen and Ucliffe Dyer.

- Tanesha Mundle

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