The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court jury will hand down the verdict today in the manslaughter trial of a policeman accused of beating a prisoner who died months later. The nine-member jury, having heard evidence for more than two weeks, will decide whether Constable Donovan Gardiner is guilty of causing the death of 28-year-old Desmond Key. The prosecution claims that on the Father's Day evening of June 17, 2007, the officer assaulted Key with a baseball bat in a cell at the Grove Police Station. Key died seven months later in hospital. His colleague and former co-accused, Constable Tavares Bowleg, had been charged with abetment. It was claimed he watched Gardiner assault Key. On Monday however, Justice Vera Watkins directed the jury to acquit Mr Bowleg when she ruled, following closed discussions with counsel, that there was not sufficient evidence for a case against him. Regarding Corporal Gardiner, she ruled that there was still a case for the accused to answer. In yesterday's proceedings, prosecutor Linda Evans and defence attorney Wayne Munroe made closing submissions. Mr Munroe, assisted by Tecoyo Bridgewater and Tonique Lewis, was expected to begin his closing statements when court resumed at 10.30am. However, he asked Justice Watkins for an opportunity to present a last witness. Ms Evans noted that the court had the discretion to honour or reject the request but later said she would not object in the interest of fairness to the defence. Dr Carlese Henry, a clinical pharmacist at Princess Margaret Hospital since December 2008, told the court her job is to advise doctors about drugs and their side effects. Though she had no direct involvement in his case, she said patients like Key who are unable to take food orally, must be fed their "liquid meal" through tubes. Lipids was the drug administered to Key along with his liquid meals according to medical files presented in court. "A side effect of Lipids therapy is it could induce pancreatitis in certain individuals," Dr Henry said. She added that each drug, "no matter how innocent it may seem, has a side effect." Dr Henry said despite the side effects of this drug, there is no substitute available. During cross-examination, Dr Henry admitted she was not a clinical pharmacist at the time of the incident. But she added that according to international case studies, patients predisposed to high levels of cholesterol or alcohol are those most at risk of developing acute pancreatitis. Reexamining, Mr Munroe asked the witness what advice she would have given the physician attending a patient like Key regarding Lipids. She said she would recommend a different treatment or constant monitoring of the patient if Lipids were used. Dr Henry admitted the hospital did not have a certified clinical pharmacist on staff at the time of Key's stay. After her testimony, Mr Munroe told the jury the prosecution's case against Gardiner made "no sense and should not have been brought before the courts." He questioned why Desmond Key, "who everyone testified that he was drunk" and swearing at police officers, "made no complaint of the beating to the EMT, no complaint to Sgt Major and this is the foolishness that Constable Roberts put before you". He contended that officer Kevin Robert's lied about seeing Corporal Gardiner strike Key in the head and side, adding that his testimony and admission to being pressured to give a statement against the accused, attested to his cowardice. He referred to the evidence of both Dr Duane Sands and Dr Caryn Sands who testified that there were no bruises on Key when he was examined. "Dr Duane could not say if the pancreatitis that Key developed had resulted from blunt force trauma or alcohol consumption," Mr Munroe said. He also questioned the likelihood of a person not having a mark or bruise after being struck with a blunt object, when a fist would leave such a mark. "There is no theory to explain how a person can be struck twice with a wooden baseball bat and receive no bruise. And since parliament has changed the law to allow me to address you first, I challenge my learned friend to explain that." In response, prosecutor Ms Evans said she did not find the latest evidence from the defense to definitively prove Key's pancreatitis was caused by drugs. She reminded the jury that Key's attending physician did attribute blunt force trauma as a cause for pancreatitis, and she maintained that it was the "excessive force" used by the accused that led to his death. She questioned the credibility of the accused and defence witness Tavares Bowleg. She reminded the jury that both men gave different accounts of the positioning of the computer and charge rooms in the station and also of the alleged escape attempt by Desmond Key, which did not add up "What they are saying are lies and they aren't even properly constructed. "This is not CSI Miami. This is not Law and Order. This is reality" she concluded. Justice Watkins will summarise the evidence before excusing the jury to deliberate. The evidence summation begins at 11am.