The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN officer testified yesterday that police opened fire on two men killed in a chase on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway in 2017 after they allegedly fired a gun at a crowd outside a bar.

Richard “Buddy” Bastian and Harold “Kevin” Brown were killed on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway around 1am on December 2, 2017. Bastian was pronounced dead at the scene. Brown later died in hospital.

The Coroner’s Court inquest into the matter continued yesterday. 

Chief Superintendent Theodore Campbell told the jury that he was part of a police operation to prevent crime on the night of the shooting. 

He recalled that around 12.58am, his squad was alerted to shots being fired at King’s Bar on Robinson Road and Washington Street and that the suspects fled the scene in a silver car.

CSP Campbell said when officers proceeded to Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, he heard a gunshot in the area of Pressure Point Bar.

By the time he arrived, he saw officers firing on a silver Honda Civic as it tried to speed away from the scene.

He said one of the occupants of the car fired one or two shots at police with a type of gun he couldn’t remember, resulting in several officers returning fire from 15 feet away.

CSP Campbell said he was one of the last officers to arrive at the site where the suspects’ vehicle collided with the fence of Ron’s Auto just off the highway.

He recalled seeing the bodies of two men on the ground near the vehicle, suffering various injuries. 

CSP Campbell identified Phillipian Brown in court as the leading officer on the night of the shooting.

He then read the report of Superintendent Mark Barrett, the officer in charge of that night’s operation.

The report said officers went to King’s Bar in marked police vehicles after shots were reported.

It said there was a crowd outside Pressure Point Bar later that night arguing with two men in a vehicle, shortly before police observed one man fire into the crowd.

According to that report, police identified themselves and ordered the deceased to surrender before a gunfight ensued.

CSP Campbell disagreed with K Melvin Munroe, the attorney for the officers, who suggested that the driver fired at the crowd. He said he saw the passenger fire at the crowd and police.

However, he could not recall if it was a right or left-hand drive vehicle.

Although CSP Campbell claimed police received information on a silver or grey vehicle that night after a shooting, he could not definitively tell David Cash, the attorney for the estates, if the vehicle that crashed was the same one spotted on Washington Street.

He also could not recall the exact number of people outside the Pressure Point Bar.

He confirmed that he only saw the firearm reportedly used against police after the crash. He identified it as a shotgun. He could not tell Mr Cash if it was a pump action shotgun. He further could not recall if any other weapon was recovered from the crashed vehicle.

While CSP Campbell told Mr Cash that seven police vehicles responded to the incident, he could not say the exact number of police there.

He also could not say if any officer or bar patron received treatment for gunshot injuries.

Mr Cash suggested no police officer was hit by gunfire. CSP Campbell didn’t contradict him.

He confirmed to the attorney that there were 17 spent 9mm round casings on the scene near the crash and one fired 9mm bullet. He also said there were five unfired shotgun rounds in the car, along with one spent shotgun shell. 

Mr Cash suggested there should have been a third fired shotgun shell recovered from the incident to match the number of shots the deceased allegedly fired. 

CSP Campbell responded that he’s not a firearm expert. He disagreed with Mr Cash’s suggestion that it would be impossible for someone to simultaneously drive and operate a pump action shotgun like the one allegedly pulled from the deceased’s car. 

Family members of the slain scoffed at his response. 

CSP Campbell said that he did not witness the crash firsthand and only arrived after the bodies were already lying on the ground.

He told Mr Cash that he never saw an officer pull either man out of the vehicle and shoot them. 

He said officers are trained to protect. He highlighted the bar patrons fleeing the scene in security footage of the incident played in court. He said officers acted in the interest of the public’s safety. 

Mr Cash questioned why officers would run after the fleeing vehicle.

Although he could not recall if the officers had body armour, CSP Campbell doubled down on his statement that police were trained to protect the public and that they were returning fire at the fleeing vehicle.

Sergent Munroe, the initial investigator on the night of the shooting, testified that he did not get the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle from dispatch.

Sgt Munroe agreed with Mr Cash that other Honda Civics could have matched the description police were given.

He also said there was no report of police vehicles being damaged or officers receiving injuries that night.

Sgt Munroe said Brown’s ambulance had already taken him to hospital by the time he arrived at the scene.

He said he watched as police cleared the pump action shotgun in Brown’s car. He also said he did not speak to civilian witnesses that night.

When a juror asked why the second spent shotgun shell he mentioned in his report was not photographed with the other shotgun ammunition, he said the photo could have been taken before the vehicle was fully processed and that the spent shell may have been recovered.

A photo of five unfired shotgun rounds and one fired shotgun shell was previously exhibited in court.

Angelo Whitfield marshalled the evidence.