Police Constable Andrew Rhooms has been freed by a Home Circuit Court jury of the murder of 31-year-old taxi driver, Clarence Fogoe.

Fogoe was fatally shot on January 31, 2003 in Greenwich Town, Kingston 12.

Defence lawyer, Oswest Senior-Smith, in addressing the jury, told them to free Rhooms because he had fired his service revolver in self-defence.

Senior-Smith also submitted that from the Crown's case, Rhooms and another policeman fired in self-defence and the Crown had not established who fired the fatal shot.

The jury retired for two hours before making the decision.

Justice Roy Jones presided at the trial, which began on December 8 and had to be adjourned from December 22 to January 5 to allow the jurors time for the holidays.

The Michaelmas session, which began on September 16, 2008, should have ended on December 19. However, the murder case caused the session to be extended until the jury handed down the verdict Tuesday. The new session opened on January 7.

Evidence was given at the trial that on January 31, 2003, the police were conducting a spot check at the intersection of Maxfield Avenue and Delacree Road, Kingston 13.

Disobeyed policemen

Fogoe, who was carrying several passengers, disobeyed policemen who signalled him to stop. He allegedly tried to hit one of the policemen.

The police gave chase and Fogoe was forced to stop when he came upon a roadblock in Greenwich Town. Evidence was given that Rhooms and another policeman were travelling in a motor car; Rhooms was armed with a service revolver while the other cop had an M16 rifle.

The Crown called 13 witnesses to testify at the trial. During the trial, Senior-Smith asked the judge to call a Crown witness.

The witness, who said he was a mason, testified that on the day of the incident, he was working at a house in Greenwich Town. He said after the motor car stopped at the roadblock, he saw a policeman, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, exit the vehicle with a long gun. He said the policeman then opened fire.

Cross-examined by Senior-Smith, the witness said he heard gunshots and after that he saw a motor vehicle approach the blockade. He said a man came out of the car and the man had his hand in the air and was turning around when the policeman fired at him.

One of the witnesses for the Crown testified that Fogoe had exited the car and was running when he was shot. Some witnesses said that he had his hands in the air when the police fired. Another witness said he saw Rhooms and another policeman firing at Fogoe.

Shot in the back of the head

The Crown was not able to establish which of the two policemen shot Fogoe in the back of the head.

Rhooms gave an unsworn statement from the dock in which he said that when Fogoe's motor car stopped at the roadblock in Greenwich Town, persons from the motor car fired shots at the police.

Rhsooms said he returned the fire and took cover behind the police service vehicle in which he was travelling. He said sometime after, he saw a man, who turned out to be the cab driver, Fogoe, lying on the ground.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com