Walter Rodney COI… ‘I examined equipment confiscated after the explosion’ – says ret’d cop

Nov 02, 2014 News

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Retired Superintendent of Police, Trenton Roach, told the Rodney Commission of Inquiry, (COI), on Friday last that he handled and examined the communications equipment, confiscated after the explosion that killed Dr. Walter Rodney.

The witness recalled that he had handled hundreds of radios and walkie-talkies during his career in the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
Dr. Rodney, a scholar, social activist and founder of the Working People’s Alliance was killed after a device, said to be a walkie-talkie, exploded in his car on June 13, 1980.
Roach told the Commission that he has been a member of the police force from December 1975 until May 2003. He recalled that this was not the first time that he was testifying in relation to the death of Dr. Rodney; he had participated in an inquest into the death in 1988.
As a member of the GPF, Roach recalled that he was attached to the Communication Branch where he was responsible for maintenance of equipment.  During his career, Roach said that he has had the opportunity of examining and testing hundreds of walkie-talkies.
After being deemed an expert in the field of electronic devices and communication, Roach told the commission that at the branch, officers were responsible for monitoring, maintaining and installing the communication equipment.
He was at the time responding to questions posed by lead Counsel, Glenn Hanoman.
Speaking specifically about the monitoring of the radio frequency, Roach explained that any unauthorized transmission was reported to the police to ensure that the network was working adequately.  He recalled that he was on duty between June 13 and June 14, 1980. He said that on June 13, he was at the Kitty Police Station, when he heard that there was an explosion.
When asked whether he was in a position to monitor what was being said on the police secure line or if he had hear via the network that Dr. Rodney had been killed, the witness said that there was an explosion, but that he could not recall if he heard Dr. Rodney’s name mentioned on the frequency.
He said, however, that after the explosion there were rumours that Dr. Rodney had been killed. Roach said that there was a discussion in the Police Station, but nothing was confirmed. Roach said that he was a Police Corporal at the time.
Asked whether he relayed the information to any of his superiors, he explained that sometimes there were rumours, which turned out to be true, but he wouldn’t take the information to his superiors unless it was confirmed.
Speaking about his involvement in the investigations surrounding the death of the Guyanese politician, the witness said that on June 14, 1980 he was instructed by his officers to return to the Criminal Investigations Department of the Headquarters of the GPF.
Once there, Roach said that he met Cecil ‘Skip’ Roberts, the officer in charge, who instructed him to speak with Assistant Superintendent Marlon Gentle. Gentle showed him some equipment (three domestic radio sets, receivers, and one monitor) and four handheld walkie-talkies, to determine if they were working. They were escorted to the workshop to conduct a thorough investigation of the equipment.
“Did you learn where the equipment came from?” the witness was asked.  “No,” he responded. “We worked on a need-to-know basis.” He also said that as a corporal, therefore he couldn’t ask questions but only take orders.
Roach said however that he sensed that it was a high-profile matter, but did not make the connection that the equipment had anything to do with Dr. Rodney’s death. He said that he knew this since the usual procedure was not followed; usually there’d be tags and labels on items, but the items were in an unsealed cardboard box.
He explained that some time after that, it became clear to him, that the equipment had something to do with Dr. Rodney’s death.
Roach told the commission that he later learnt that the equipment had been removed from the home of Mr. Rowe, which is also the home of Gregory Smith, (the person who was subsequently fingered as the prime suspect in the crime).
He said that he came to know Smith while attending a course with other members of the Armed Forces.  Roach recalled that no wanted bulletins were issued for Smith after Dr. Rodney was killed; there were radio communications that someone was wanted, and up to 1988, he had never seen any bulletins.
Under Cross examination by Attorney-at–Law, Christopher Ram, the witness recalled that he had attended WPA meetings. He said that he had pledged his loyalty to the State; the PNCR was the ruling Party at the time.
The witness said that as a member of the GPF, he was cautioned not to attend WPA meetings and that he also knew that persons lost their jobs because of their association with the party.  As a result of the warning, he stopped attending the WPA meetings.
In response to questions posed by the Attorney, Roach told the commission that he was also concerned about the network being tampered with, since whenever there were WPA meetings, the communication frequencies were jammed.
“I was concerned about our network being breached. The police network was less than… receiving transmission very clearly… this was very serious because we felt that the police transmission was compromised; it could cost people to lose their lives; we could run into an ambush.”

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