The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A FORENSIC pathologist testified that Royal Bahamas Defence Force leading seaman Rodney Adderley, Jr, died from a bullet wound to the heart.

Acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux presided as the inquest into Adderley’s police-involved death on January 10, 2022, continued yesterday.

K Melvin Munroe represents Corporal Rashad Pratt, the officer whose actions are the subject of the inquest. Bjorn Ferguson represents the deceased’s estate.

Body camera footage showed on Monday that the RBDF officer was detained by police and had his hands on his car after they approached him and gave him commands in a vacant lot on Dunmore Avenue. CPL Pratt’s body cam footage showed Adderley lunging at him while he was inspecting the man’s ID. The officer claims the deceased was reaching for his gun, prompting him to shoot.

Dr Caryn Sands, forensic pathologist at Princess Margaret Hospital, testified that Adderley’s official cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso.

She observed that the deceased had two gunshot wounds to his chest and one to his abdominal region just below his navel. She also noted that the bullets exited the deceased’s body from the back.

The deceased had a scrape on his left thigh and abrasions to his right forehead and left arm.

Dr Sands said the bullets that penetrated Adderley’s body went through his heart and left lung, causing fatal bleeding.

Detective Sergeant Henrington Curry, a firearm expert, said he conducted a ballistic examination of the firearms of Cpl Pratt and his partner, PC Phillip Deveaux, on December 7.

In his report, he indicated that Cpl Pratt’s Sig Sauer 9mm pistol was capable of firing and that the bullets and bullet casings pulled from the scene could be ejected from that weapon.

D/Sgt Curry also noted that he was handed 10 unfired rounds with this weapon, which had a magazine capacity of 15 rounds.

PC Deveaux’s 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol was also deemed capable of firing. This weapon still had all 15 rounds in its magazine when it was surrendered to CSI.

The firearms, magazines and the fired bullet and bullet casings recovered from the shooting were all shown in court.

Inspector Jamal Edgecombe of the police armoury said officers are trained to use deadly force against a target in extreme circumstances. He further said such force is justified if an officer tries to save their or another person’s life.

Inspector Edgecombe said Cpl Pratt was qualified to use 9mm pistols, shotguns, and rifles, according to his firing range reports. He said he endorsed Cpl Pratt’s training on behalf of the armoury, but did not directly oversee it.

He also said police-issued holsters exist, but not all weapons come with one.

During questioning from Mr Munroe, Inspector Edgecombe explained that officers are trained to interview people from a safe distance of about 7ft. He said any person within three feet or arms distance of an officer is too close as they can grab the officer or their weapon.

However, Inspector Edgecombe acknowledged that officers must get close to suspects to arrest them.

The officer called stop-and-search operations one of the most dangerous in police work, with the standard practice calling for officers to be cautious at every step.

When Mr Ferguson asked if a suspect with his hands on a vehicle is considered a threat, Inspector Edgecombe said yes. He said he was trained to holster a weapon when searching a suspect.

Inspector Edgecombe told the lawyer he did not know if Cpl Pratt took defensive training as he could only speak to his firearm training.

Angelo Whitfield marshalled the evidence.