The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROSECUTORS have upgraded the charges against three police officers accused of killing Azario Major from manslaughter to murder after investigators concluded that he was shot repeatedly after he had already died.

Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier said prosecutors upgraded the charges against Sergeant 2825 Antonio Sweeting, Sergeant 3039 Jamal Johnson and Sergeant 3726 Deangelo Rolle after reviewing the evidence.

She said investigators determined that Major had been shot numerous times after his death, undermining any argument that the officers lacked an intention to kill.

“When you look at all of the unnecessary shots, then that led to the decision to upgrade it,” Ms Frazier said.

Major was shot and killed in his car outside a bar on Fire Trail Road on December 26, 2021.

The officers maintained that Major approached them in his car and that they feared for their lives. However, Ms Frazier said the evidence did not support that account.

“In this case, they were saying okay, the person approached them in this car, and they felt that they were in fear of their life, but the evidence doesn’t suggest that they could’ve possibly felt that,” she said.

The officers had been scheduled to stand trial last month, but the case was adjourned to September 14.

They have elected to be tried by a judge alone.

Their attorney, Keevon Maynard, has said a judge-alone trial would be fairer because it would centre on the law and evidence without external influence.

That position follows the officers’ earlier attempt to overturn the Coroner’s Court’s homicide by manslaughter finding.

They argued that intense publicity surrounding the inquest had prejudiced them and may have influenced the jury.

In March 2024, Justice Franklyn Williams refused to quash the verdict.

Justice Williams acknowledged that publicity surrounding Major’s death included social media posts, commentary, interviews, a website and a podcast, with several people repeatedly calling for the officers to be indicted.

He said the jury’s finding may have been influenced by the publicity, but ruled that the issue was not properly before him in that application.

The officers also complained that the Coroner’s Court failed to properly address a constitutional application they filed during the inquest.

Justice Williams rejected their bid to set aside the verdict, finding that they had not exhausted the other remedies available to them.

Major’s relatives have repeatedly criticised delays in the case and said they are still seeking justice more than four years after his death.