469 / 494
468
14.128.
Capt. Anderson, it will be recalled, testified that “control of sector 3
was achieved by 5.00 p.m.” Maj. Mahatma Williams and the contingent of the
CSB were detailed to go to the Levy and Derek Pathways to find Coke. About
30 members of the security forces carried out the mission albeit unsuccessfully.
But in carrying out the mission, they cleared and searched 2 properties on Derek
and Levy Pathways. They did no searches on Dee Cee Avenue.
14.129.
Capt. Anderson’s evidence is that an aspect of securing and
controlling a sector involved looking for criminals. This required clearing houses.
In his words:
“House clearing entailed separating women and children
from men. We had to keep them in one place for the
purposes of command and control. They were separated
until the Police arrived. We had to do a count of the number
of persons in each building. The JCF came and took
control.”
14.130.
Under cross-examination by Lord Gifford, Capt. Anderson said –
“Buildings which we selected, specifically high-rise buildings,
were cleared...During house clearing I received no reports of
dead bodies.”
14.131.
Later, he said that 6 bodies were found in sector 3, and house
clearing continued into the night, he explained that -
“Tactical clearance is just to ensure that a building is cleared
from immediate danger.”
Lt. Col. David Cummings
14.132.
Lt. Col. Cummings created his own plan for the operations of the
Engineers, 371 of whom he deployed on 24 May. On 26 May the Engineers
began searches in West Kingston. They were looking for weapons and munitions
especially.