Two policemen accused of making false statements to INDECOM freed

Two St Catherine-based policemen who were charged with making false statements to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) during an investigation were freed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday after the case collapsed.

Sergeant Jason Bailey and District Constable Vaughn Sutherland were charged with breaches of the INDECOM Act.

When the matter came up for trial, the court was told that crucial documents were still outstanding, leaving the case file incomplete.

As a result, the prosecution offered no evidence.

A formal verdict of not guilty was subsequently entered, and Parish Court Judge Alwayne Smith freed both men.

The officers were represented by attorneys-at-law Orville Morgan, John Jacobs, Michael Deans and D'Ondre Buchanan.

The charges stemmed from an incident in February 2021 along Old Harbour Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine, during a police operation in which items were reportedly damaged by gunfire.

During INDECOM's investigation, Bailey and Sutherland were criminally charged with making false statements to investigators.

Both men denied the allegations and maintained their innocence throughout the proceedings.

- Rasbert Turner

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