Witness Phillipa Walkes testified that she saw a “short and dark” police officer grabbing Jermaine’s collar; then she saw a gun, and then heard two shots fired.
She said the officer then “put Jermaine on the ground” and turned him over. He was dead.
She was able to give testimony about the day Jermaine died because he was shot right in front of her, as she was standing in the doorway of the bar, she told the court.
Her testimony supported previous statements made by firearms expert Terrence Lavoy, who told the court in April that at least one of the bullets that entered jermaine’s body was fired at a distance of just 6 – 24 inches away.
Jermaine was shot and killed following an encounter with police officers on St. James Road on December 6, 2002.
The incident spurred a riot in the community, resulting in thousands of doallrs worth of damage, including damage to several police vehicles.
Felicity Ingraham, The Tribune
