The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A PATHOLOGIST testified yesterday that Deron Okoye Wilkinson died from a single gunshot wound to the head after being fatally shot by police in his car on Independence Highway in 2018.

Wilkinson, 27, was killed on March 19, 2018, following what police described as an encounter in which he allegedly pulled a weapon on officers. His family disputes this, claiming he was unarmed and had only been waving his phone when he was shot. Officers said the stop was initiated due to the vehicle’s dark-tinted rear windows.

Dr Caryn Sands said the bullet entered the left side of Wilkinson’s head just above the ear and travelled downward, fracturing his skull and causing brain bleeding. Using a photograph of Wilkinson’s body at the morgue, she pointed out the entry wound to the jury.

She said a deformed bullet was recovered from the right side of his head.

Responding to questions from attorney Maria Daxon, who represents Wilkinson’s estate, Dr Sands said the absence of discharge marks indicated the shooter was more than two feet away when the shot was fired. However, she said she could not determine Wilkinson’s position — whether he was sitting or otherwise — at the time he was shot.

Conflicting testimony has been presented regarding why Wilkinson was found in a reclined seat. An EMT who first examined the body said she did not move the seat, contradicting earlier claims by police.

Although Dr Sands said Wilkinson was approximately 5ft 7in, she could not speak to the height or position of the shooter.

She testified that the shot caused the loss of consciousness due to its concussive force, but it would not have been immediately fatal, likely taking minutes to result in death.

Aside from the gunshot wound, Dr Sands described Wilkinson as a relatively healthy 27-year-old, noting that the rest of his body appeared “normal”.

Detective Corporal 3789 Antoinette Fox of the police forensic lab testified that she received Police Constable 3620 Lee Dormeus’s police-issued Sig Sauer P226 9mm pistol, along with 29 unfired rounds and two magazines.

She also received a fired bullet and bullet fragment recovered from Wilkinson’s body, and a black .45 pistol with two rounds that was found in Wilkinson’s car.

DC Fox said she tested both weapons in February of this year and confirmed they were capable of being fired. She added that the fired bullet could have come from a weapon similar to the police 9mm but could not conclusively say it was fired from that specific gun.

She told evidence marshal Angelo Whitfield that she could not recall how often she receives suspect weapons with intact serial numbers. The firearm recovered from Wilkinson’s vehicle had a visible serial number.

When questioned by Ms Daxon, DC Fox said she could not confirm whether fingerprints were taken from the weapon recovered from Wilkinson’s car, as that would fall under the purview of the Crime Records Office (CRO). She also said she could not say whether the blood found on the weapon was tested. By the time she received it, the gun was partially covered in dirt.

Inspector Denrea Johnson, of the Firearm Licencing Unit, testified that Wilkinson was not registered to possess any firearm or ammunition. She also confirmed that the black .45 pistol, bearing serial number 61DMN06481, was not in their records and therefore unlicenced.

Inspector Christoph Greenslade, a police trainer, explained that officers are trained to use firearms only as a last resort and to try non-lethal tactics to deescalate situations. However, he said officers are permitted to use deadly force when confronted with an armed threat.

“They are taught to fire until the threat to themselves and the public is neutralised,” he said.

He added that officers are trained to match the force used by a suspect and to issue verbal commands instructing them to drop their weapon. He also explained that when an officer shouts “gun,” it is a warning to fellow officers — not an order to fire, but a signal to be alert to a potential threat.