The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE second-in-command of Central Police Station agreed during a court hearing yesterday that something went “wrong” the night 60-year-old Hartman Dawkins was in custody, complaining of feeling unwell, only to be found dead in his cell the following morning.

He also admitted it was “abnormal” that, at one point that night, only one officer was left alone in the station with prisoners.

His testimony was given during an inquest before Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux,

which is examining the circumstances surrounding Dawkins’s death on January 22, 2023. Officers reportedly discovered him unresponsive in his cell during routine morning checks.

An officer previously testified that there was a six-hour gap in Dawkins’s detention record between his last wellness check and the discovery of his body, describing such a lapse as “highly unusual”.

Surveillance footage from the Central Police Station cell block was presented as evidence on Friday, showing Dawkins repeatedly complaining of feeling unwell and urging officers to get him medical help.

Chief Superintendent Lynden Bradley Styles, second-in-command at Central Police Station at the time of the incident, said that during his tenure, he received updates from each section head. He said he was provided with these reports daily from every shift.

He said that an inspector is assigned to check in on weekends, though there is no specific time for them to do so. While he said that the inspector is expected to check in at least once a day, he could not confirm whether this had been done on the weekend of Dawkins’s death.

When evidence marshal Angelo Whitfield asked which officers were on duty that weekend, CSP Styles said he could only recall that Inspector Kevin Sears and Sergeant Shepherd were supposed to be present.

After claiming he received reports on weekends, Mr Whitfield pointed out that this conflicted with his earlier statement that he only received administrative reports Monday to Friday. CSP Styles then said that he received hourly reports on weekends via WhatsApp.

He also said that a guard commander, usually a sergeant, is responsible for maintaining the station diary. However, he admitted that while he checked the diary, he did not do so at any specific time. He said the reports he received typically included staff attendance, prisoner updates, and patrol information.

When questioned about January 21 and 22, 2023 — the days Dawkins was taken into custody and later died — he said he could not recall those dates.

Although he initially claimed he was not second-in-command at the station then, he conceded that he was after being shown an official document listing him as such. He later added that he had been stationed there for one year at the time of the incident.

Reading from a late shift report that night, CSP Styles noted that six officers were listed as being on duty. However, Mr Whitfield informed him that half of those officers did not show up for work. CSP Styles responded that he could not speak to that.

While he said he did not recall a staffing issue being raised on January 22, nor receiving a call about it, he claimed that reserves could have been brought in to assist in the event of a staff shortage. However, he said he received no call indicating that the 12am to 8am shift was insufficiently staffed.

Despite initially saying that he could not recall when he learned of Dawkins’s death in custody, he later claimed that he found out that same day, saying he was “more than likely” informed by the guard commander.

CSP Styles admitted that he did not generate a report regarding his summons for this matter, saying that he “really doesn’t recall this matter”.

While reading a report detailing the events of that night, CSP Styles noted that Corporal Hepburn had written that he handed over the station to “blank”. Another report, written by Corporal Duncombe, did not mention who he took over from.

Officers previously testified that CPL Hepburn was in charge before CPL Duncombe relieved him an hour late. CSP Styles agreed that the lack of clear documentation regarding the transfer of station control was not normal.

He claimed he might have seen these station diary entries before.

When Mr Whitfield asked if it was his duty to investigate the station after Dawkins’s death, CSP Styles said no, asserting that it was the responsibility of the Complaints and Corrections Department. He further claimed that another division would have handled the investigation and that an inquiry should have taken place.

CSP Styles agreed with Mr Whitfield that something had gone “wrong” at the station since a suspect had died in custody.

When the jury asked why he had not written a report, he responded that it was his subordinates’ duty. He added that no one had instructed him to write a report on Dawkins’s death.

CSP Styles told Coroner Deveaux that a suspect’s property would typically be documented and stored.

When asked what it meant if items were listed in the detention record but not in the station diary, CSP Styles responded that the detention record primarily covered these matters.

However, when shown that Dawkins had $20 in Mexican pesos, assorted mixed currency, and a wallet listed in the detention record, but no mention of his currency was found in the station diary, he said he did not wish to speculate.

He agreed with the coroner that issues within the station should be recorded in official police reports.

When asked what inference could be drawn from the fact that the name of the officer to whom the station was handed over was missing, CSP Styles said it meant “the officer fell down” and that the handing-over certificate was deficient. He added that CPL Hepburn had failed in his duty by not properly documenting the handover in the diary.

He also claimed he might have received the station diary after Dawkins’s death but could not recall.

Coroner Deveaux suggested that he was not regularly updated on that shift, given his lack of recollection of those events.

When asked what he would do if he did not receive an update, he claimed he could have called or checked the station himself.

CSP Styles said he did not recall receiving any calls from the station in the hours leading up to and culminating in Dawkins’s death.

He claimed that reports from the incident would have been submitted to the Central Intelligence Division.

Coroner Deveaux informed CSP Styles that two officers on duty that night had only been on the force for two and a half months, another officer had been on the force for ten months, and yet another arrived an hour late for his shift.

CSP Styles insisted that probationary officers would not be stationed there alone.

However, Coroner Deveaux stressed that at one point that night, several junior officers left the station simultaneously, leaving one of the largest police station cell blocks in New Providence under the command of a single officer, with ten or more suspects in custody.

CSP Styles admitted that it was “abnormal” for just one officer to be left alone in the station and that he would be concerned for his own safety in those circumstances.

As she examined police conduct that night, Coroner Deveaux said: “Maybe some things need to change.”

She also informed CSP Styles that three police constables testified that the sergeant on duty that night never personally checked the cell blocks.

CSP Styles maintained that he could not recall whether he was updated on what was happening at the station that night.

Inspector Kevin Sears of Central Police Station testified that a sergeant would typically man the station during weekend night shifts.

Although he admitted he was the duty inspector that weekend, he did not show up, nor was he called to the station.

He claimed that the duty inspector was not required to report to the station on weekends — contradicting CSP Styles’s testimony.