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out of the community. They were originally constructed as
storm water drains.”
13.25.
CoP Ellington later testified to this effect:
“What I was told was that whilst the security forces were
under intense and sustained gunfire from all quarters, Coke
and others seized the opportunity to break through the
dragnet and the security forces were not going to shoot
fleeing individuals…It seems to me logical that in the heat of
gunfire, the war, whatever was the situation created by
those gunmen, he could have escaped. I am told that it
would have been late in the evening going into the night of
the 24
th
.”
The Circumstances Which May Have Facilitated Escape
13.26.
We turn now to the conditions which may have facilitated Coke’s
escape. Some of these have been discussed in other Chapters and are not
repeated here in any detail. They include the violent resistance offered by
gunmen, disruption or derailing of the plans of the security forces and
consequential delays in the advance of the security forces. We have also
included in this Part, some mention of the physical environment and the
multiplicity of possible escape routes.
(A) Resistance by Gunmen
13.27.
Maj. Williams’ evidence on 30 June 2015 was as follows:
“I came to the conclusion shortly after things had sort of
settled in Tivoli that the areas in which we met the most
serious resistance was in the Western approach going into
Java and the Eastern approach coming into Coronation
Market. Those two areas had serious resistance and, I
extrapolated, concerned themselves with the protection of
the movement of Coke. In Java we knew that is where he
was resident – that was his residence. So when we
approached that area, we did meet some serious resistance
and we suffered some serious injuries in that particular area
of Tivoli Gardens. On the approach from the East to
Coronation Market area, the resistance we met there I think