Omar Anderson, Staff Reporter
THE POLICE'S handling of the swabbing of the hands of seven young men, killed in controversial circumstances in Braeton last March, was again called into question at yesterday's sitting of the Braeton Inquest.
Attorney-at-law Maurice Saunders, who is representing the family of 19-year-old Dane Whyte, sought to find out from Government forensic analyst Marcia Dunbar, whether Detective Sergeant Devon Harris, of the Scene of Crime Section of the police force, had conducted the swabbings properly.
Under cross-examination, the witness testified that it was the correct procedure for Harris to have washed his hands before swabbing a body, to eliminate any possible contamination.
When Det. Sgt. Harris took the witness stand earlier this year, he said he washed his hands before swabbing the bodies on March 14, last year. He testified, however, that although he wore a pair of gloves at all times and changed gloves for each body he swabbed, he didn't wash his hands after swabbing each of the young men's bodies.
Yesterday, Mrs. Dunbar told Coroner Mrs. Lorna Errar-Gayle and the 12-member jury that it was ideal for the detective sergeant to have washed his hands before swabbing each body.
Fielding questions from Mr. Saunders as to whether Det. Sgt Harris' swabbing procedure was incorrect in the circumstances, Mrs. Dunbar said she was unable to say, but that the procedure was less than ideal.
When cross-examined by attorney-at-law Roger Davis, who is representing the family of Andre Virgo, 20, the forensic analyst said the failure to also get swabs from other parts of the young men's body did not alter the results of swabbing done on their hands.
Mrs. Dunbar said she determined the various trace levels of gunshot residue (GSR) trace, intermediate, and elevated by the number of particles she counted when chemicals were applied to the pieces of cotton swabs and placed under a power microscope with the same field of view.
The witness said a count of up to four particles means there is a trace level of gunshot residue, while between five and 10 particles show there is an intermediate level. Elevated levels of gunpowder residue, the highest level, comes from more than 10 particles.
On Thursday, lawyers representing the seven young men tried to show that Mrs. Dunbar's method of testing the swabs also had flaws.
The Inquest continues on Monday with Mr. Saunders continuing his cross-examination.
