The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net 

A MAN testified yesterday that police officers beat and tortured him at Governor’s Harbour Police Station over three days in 2018 as his case for alleged police abuse continued.

Yesterday’s hearing was the latest in a case that first heard testimony in 2021.

Justice Loren Klein is presiding over the civil trial involving Chavette Strachan, Dale Gibson Jr, and Kenton Fines, who appeared virtually via Zoom.

The three plaintiffs were arrested in connection with an armed robbery at C and AA Service Station in Palmetto Point, Eleuthera, which involved the shooting of employee Joel Stubbs. However, they were later released without charge. Their Supreme Court trial focuses on their treatment while in custody.

Mr Fines testified about his experience at Governor’s Harbour Police Station between January 19 and 23, 2018.

He said he was taken into custody on January 19, searched, and had his belongings confiscated before being placed in a cell. Throughout his detention, he said he repeatedly asked why he was being held but never received an answer from officers.

During questioning, police mentioned a gas station robbery, but Mr Fines claimed he only learned of it after being beaten.

He said he heard one of his co-plaintiffs, Dale Gibson Jr, was also taken into custody, though he could not say when. He testified that a mutual friend, Michael, was brought in that morning.

Mr Fines claimed he heard Michael being tortured by police, hollering and begging for them to stop. Hearing this, he said he felt worried and confused, fearing he would be next.

He testified that two officers later took him into a room, shackled his legs and hands, and placed a bag over his head while saying, “You gon’ tell us something today.”

He insisted he knew nothing but was repeatedly suffocated with a fisherman’s bag. He alleged that officers intermittently removed the bag to pour hot sauce into his eyes or inside the bag, causing severe pain.

Describing the ordeal, he said he feared for his life and believed the officers were going to kill him. While he was being strangled, another officer allegedly held his handcuffs down to keep him still.

Out of fear, he resisted, kicking a hole in the door and breaking a desk. He said that when officers saw him resisting, they stopped choking him and started beating him.

Mr Fines claimed he was then dragged into a room with a shower, where police placed a pair of cargo shorts over his mouth and poured water over his face to simulate drowning in an attempt to force a confession.

During this ordeal, he said he feared he would never see his three-year-old daughter or his family again.

He testified that when he returned to his cell, his eyes were constantly watering due to the hot sauce, and a thin layer of mucus formed around them. He struggled to see and feared he might go blind.

He said officers ignored him after placing him back in the cell. None of the male officers made eye contact with him, except for one female officer. He described feeling helpless and traumatised.

Later, he tried to comfort Ms Strachan, telling her he didn’t believe male officers would beat her. However, that night, he claimed he heard officers beating her as she begged for her life, insisting she knew nothing.

He also claimed that while Ms Strachan was being abused, her brother was in front of the police station asking about her, unaware of what was happening.

While in custody, Mr Fines said he was forced to urinate in a Gatorade bottle that friends and family had originally brought for him and his co-plaintiffs to drink. When the bottles were full, he had to urinate around the cell with nothing to clean it up.

He also said he lost track of time and was interrogated again in a room full of officers. He was told that a man had been shot and killed during the gas station robbery. Mr Fines said he was sorry to hear that but insisted he knew nothing about it.

He claimed he spent Saturday in the same cell without a blanket or jacket.

On Sunday, officers took him to his home in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera, where they handcuffed him and ransacked his belongings. He said police told him he was going to jail, despite his continued insistence on his innocence.

Later that day, he was taken to a clinic, but officers refused to let doctors treat his eyes.

Police took a blood sample from him, allegedly because blood was found at the crime scene. When asked by his attorney, Fred Smith, why he consented, he said he thought it would help secure his release after three days in custody.

He was uncertain when Mr Gibson had been taken into custody.

Mr Fines claimed his wrists and ankles were scarred from the handcuffs, with open wounds from resisting. He was not released until 4 pm on Monday, January 23, 2018.

He said that Michael was the only suspect with a lawyer before his release, and he and his co-plaintiffs used Michael’s attorney to inquire about their release.

Mr Fines claimed his eyes still bother him and that he suffers from extreme sensitivity to sunlight. He later travelled to New Providence for an eye examination at the Golden Gates Clinic, where he was referred to Dr Rogers.

He was unsure whether he had permanent damage at the time, but a medical report indicated his eye lens was torn. He was prescribed glasses, which he had never needed before, and said he struggles to see small letters from a distance.

After his release, he claimed officers warned him that they were “not off the hook yet.” He was never charged in connection with the robbery and said no officer ever apologised for what happened to him.

He described the experience as “hurtful”.

Mr Fines alleged that officer Ryan Cooper, one of the accused, took his phone and kicked him in the throat to force him to reveal his password. He said he never got the phone back.

After his release, Ms Strachan took pictures of him, which were shown in court. The images allegedly depicted lacerations on his wrists and ankles, as well as his eyes still watering days after the hot sauce incident.

He also claimed that after his arrest, social media posts listed him and Mr Gibson as robbery suspects, using his WhatsApp profile picture. These posts allegedly appeared within 24 hours of his detention.

He accused Officer Cooper of making the post, which was later deleted.

Mr Fines recalled an uncomfortable experience returning to the clinic after his release, saying people looked at him with suspicion, and someone shouted, “Someone better lock this murderer up.”

Later that year, while in New Providence, he lodged an official complaint with the Complaints and Corruption Unit. He claimed officers instructed him not to mention Mr Gibson or Ms Strachan in his statement, but he signed the document anyway. He said he never received an apology from police.

During cross-examination by Mr Smith, Mr Fines denied pursuing the case for money. He said he believed others had endured similar experiences in custody and wanted his story to be heard for the “voiceless” and for those allegedly killed in police custody.

He described police officers as “gangsters in uniform” and said he felt helpless. He claimed police abuse their power daily in The Bahamas. When asked by Mr Smith, he confirmed he wanted damages from the government for the abuse he suffered.

Ms Strachan and Mr Gibson are represented by Bjorn Ferguson, while Mr Fines is represented by Fred Smith, KC.