353 / 494
352
“I would have been present when Tomlinson signed and I
would have checked to see that he had no injuries.”
10.238.
ACP Rose emphasised that, in briefing the officers of Mobile
Reserve before the launch of the operation, we spent “a lot of time briefing them
on the rights of the individual”. That briefing took into account the detention of
persons and the way in which they were to be treated.
(v)
ACP Clifford Blake
10.239.
ACP Blake was questioned about detainees and he explained the
basis for detention in this way in answer to Mrs. Mayhew:
“We had an arrest plan including the safe custody of
detainees. We knew that a large number of wanted persons
from all over Jamaica had descended on Tivoli Gardens. The
security forces were to capture wanted men or persons who
were there in support of Coke. We have a
wanted persons
database and our officers would have had a list going into
Tivoli. If we were not certain of the identities of persons,
they were taken in and, if they were clean, they were
released.”
10.240.
When cross-examined by Mrs. DaCosta, ACP Blake re-affirmed his
evidence given in answer to Mrs. Mayhew:
“Persons were wanted and we were looking for them.
Where we could not establish identity, people were taken
into custody. ….The list of persons and their photographs
were shared with our operatives. We had a long list. ‘Slicer’
was one of those on the list.”
10.241.
ACP Blake was not sure of the number of detainees but he
estimated 4,000 “taken over an extended period of time and from all over
Kingston…..”
“A number of persons we had on the list were apprehended
over the duration of the operation which was probably 6
weeks.”