'Chucky' Brown Trial | Accused implicated himself in INDECOM interviews

Assistant Commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), Hamish Campbell, said yesterday that the accused police Constable Collis 'Chucky' Brown implicated himself in the two interviews the commission conducted with him.

Testifying in the trial at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston yesterday, Campbell said in the first interview, which was held at a popular hotel in Mandeville on August 6, 2013, Brown confessed to being part of a police team that had been involved with other police in shooting and killing people.

In the same interview, Campbell said Brown also mentioned the killing of Robert 'Gutty' Dawkins. This interview was uncautioned. When asked why this was the case, Campbell said: "I was conscious of the situation we were in. He was armed, Warren Williams (other INDECOM officer present) was armed and we were in a small room. There was the potential to change the tenor of the interview to caution him, (but) I knew I had to interview him again, and told him that."

In a second interview, which took place on August 10 of the same year, the INDECOM officers cautioned Brown, who gave a similar statement to the first, despite his attorney being absent. Campbell said at this point Brown was being treated as an accused witness hybrid, as he was providing information which not only implicated himself, but also other police officers.

Campbell revealed to the court that a covert recording device had been used during the first meeting, the contents of which were placed on a CD and transcribed. The second interview was recorded with Brown's knowledge and produced three CDs which were transcribed into a 94-page document. That document was reviewed by the accused on September 29, 2013, and ultimately signed with amendments. All CDs and transcripts, which were verified and signed by Brown, were admitted into evidence yesterday.

Brown is indicted for the January 10, 2009, murder of Robert 'Gutty' Dawkins along the Palmer's Cross main road in Clarendon and the December 13, 2012, murders of Dwayne Douglas and Andrew Fearon along the Swansea main road in the parish. He is also facing one count of wounding with intent and one count of conspiracy to murder.