Headlines:
| Cop freed of murder |
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| Tuesday, 06 January 2009 | |
 A policeman who was charged for the 2003 controversial
shooting death of a taxi operator was freed Tuesday. Constable Andrew Roomes walked free from the Home Circuit Court after a 12 member jury returned the not guilty verdict. He was on trial for the murder of Clarence Fogoe. Mr. Fogoe was shot dead by the police following a high speed chase which ended in Greenwich Farm, St Andrew. Government prosecutors led evidence that on January 31, 2003, Mr. Fogoe was driving his robot taxi cab along Maxfield Avenue when he ran into a police spot check. He was signalled to stop, but sped off, forcing the police to jump out of the way. He was chased by a team of policemen led by commanding officer, Deputy Superintendent Dalton Wright. Mr. Fogoe reportedly ran several red lights in a desperate bid to elude the cops. Two of his four passengers reportedly jumped from the moving vehicle. Mr. Fogoe was shot in the head when he ran into one of the many roadblocks mounted in the volatile Greenwich Farm community. In his defence, Constable Roomes said he opened fire when a gunman jumped from the vehicle and opened fire on his team. However, this was disputed by three of the passengers. They testified that the taxi operator was shot in the head when he stepped out of the vehicle. One of the witness who was 14 at the time told the jury that there were no gunmen in the vehicle. During the trial, defence attorney Oswest Senior Smith was able to adduce contradictory testimony from the eyewitnesses. The jurors deliberated for two hours before returning the verdict. |