Linden Commission of Inquiry…Police commander claims he had no authority over TSU ranks

Sep 27, 2012 News

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–    says decision to shoot is call of TSU commander on the ground
A police sergeant who works in the Police arms room yesterday listed weapons, including rifles and pistols, which were given to ranks deployed to Linden on July 18 when three Lindeners were shot dead.
However, at yesterday’s sitting of the Commission of Inquiry in the July 18 events, Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken claimed he did not know what weapons the ranks from Georgetown had.

Further, Hicken said he had no authority over the ranks from Georgetown.  He testified that he had requested Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell to send a unit from the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) to support him in Linden given that permission was granted for a five-day protest march.
That TSU unit comprised of 18 ranks under the command of Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd. According to Hicken, any decision to fire at the crowd would have been the call of the commander on the ground.
Even though he requested the TSU unit, Hicken said he had no authority over them and any instructions to the unit would have been directed by the Commissioner of Police.
Hicken said he briefed the TSU unit on the morning of July 18 about the location, seeking to familiarize them with the area. He said that he did not know whether the ranks from the unit had bulletproof vests, whether they had shields or whether they had weapons, and if they did, he did not know what kind of weapons they had.
Hicken was a former commanding officer of the TSU. During his tenure, he said the Police did not have in its store any copper-coated ammunition or any copper-coated pellets. He said he could not account for what happened after he left.
On July 18, Hicken was the Commander of E&F Division, the second largest Police district, which covers the town of Linden and its Police stations at Mackenzie.
He was relieved of his duties on July 19, the day after the three Lindeners were killed. The Commissioner of Police had described him as having a short temper, but Hicken said he did not know about that.
Hicken is now the Deputy Commander of “B” Division, which covers the Berbice region.
Sergeant Aubrey Bowman, who works in the Arms room at the TSU, was the first to testify yesterday when the Commission of Inquiry continued its sittings. Bowman’s duties involve recording the arms and ammunition that he issues.
On July 18, he said he handed arms and ammunition to the 18 officers from the TSU who were deployed to Linden.
The Commanding Officer, Todd, was issued with a 9 mm pistol and ammunition, Bowman said, while   four officers were issued with an RN rifle and 40 rounds of 7.62 x 51 ammunition. He said that some were given Civilian Protection (CP) riot guns with ammunition; some were given .38 special revolvers, while others were given tear gas grenades.
Bowman could not say how many of the guns and ammunition were returned. He said another officer recorded that information. That officer is scheduled to testify before the Commission.
When Senior Superintendent Hicken took to the stand, he testified that only the Commissioner of Police has the authority to deploy and direct any TSU unit, and that in the absence of the Commissioner of Police, the only other person who has such authority is the Deputy Commissioner (Operations).

He said that the unit on the ground receives the instructions of the Police Commissioner through the Divisional Commander under whom they operate.
Hicken said he was aware that permission was granted for the march and he deployed a total of 40 persons to “monitor” the march, including the Linden Anti-Crime patrol, which he commands.  He said members of that patrol were armed with machine guns.
Hicken said he arrived in Linden just before sunrise on July 18 and stopped at the Police stations in Mackenzie and Wismar to alert them of his presence in the town.
Later, he said he briefed the team that would be deployed on the ground, including the unit from the TSU.
About 11:05 that morning, he left his office at the Mackenzie Police station for the 75-foot bridge which separates Mackenzie and Wismar. Once he got to the bridge, Hicken said he observed a crowd of about 900 persons on the bridge. He said the protestors had blocked the bridge with boulders, derelict “vehicle,” and pieces of metal. Tents were set up on the bridge.
He said that he spoke with Region Ten chairman Sharma Solomon, who had applied for permission for the march, and activist Lincoln Lewis, telling them that the blocking of the bridge was unlawful. According to Hicken, Solomon and Lewis undertook to get the protestors to desist from blocking the bridge.
Hicken said he returned to his office and all the while he kept informing the Police Commissioner about what was happening on the ground. Hicken said that at the time he visited the bridge he was not armed, and neither was he armed when he returned to the bridge around 17:05 hrs.
At that time, Hicken said the bridge was still blocked, and he observed what appeared to be persons cooking on the bridge.
He said that the crowd threatened to burn the bridge and burn the town down if the Police attempted to “stop” them.
Hicken said he also spoke with activist David Hinds who also promised to persuade the protestors to come off the bridge.
Subsequently, Hicken said the Police Commissioner instructed him to let the TSU Unit clear the bridge and he passed that instruction down to Todd, the commander of the TSU unit.
He said that he monitored the situation on the ground via Todd and the officer on the ground, Assistant Superintendent Stanton and was in constant contact with the Police Commissioner.
Hicken said that at no time was he in contact with the Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.
Responding to a line of questioning by attorney Basil Williams, Hicken denied that he had threatened the chairman of the Interim Management Committee for Linden and one Mr Sampson, director of the Linden Electricity company.
Hicken said that around 19:30 hrs, he received information that people were injured and he dispatched a detective corporal to investigate. It was only until 22:00 hrs that Hicken said he was able to confirm that indeed persons were injured.
Hicken said that at 06:00 h the following day he went to the Mackenzie hospital and was told that two persons had died.
Hicken maintained that he acted in accord with the Police’s Standard Operations Procedure and did not have any motive to shoot and kill the Linden protestors.  He will be called to the stand for a second time today.
On July 18, three Linden protestors were shot dead and following sustained protests, the government agreed to an independent Commission of Inquiry.
The Commission is chaired by former Chief Justice of Jamaica, Lensley Wolfe.

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