Judge Orders for Perjury Investigation into PC Claude Augustine
PC Claude Augustine
At the end of the cross-examination of recalled witness, Police Constable Claude Augustine, a visibly annoyed Justice Antoinette Moore instructed him to leave her court. But not before informing him of how displeased she was about his testimony, which she categorized as perjury. In fact, Justice Moore told Prosecutor Javier Chan to have the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions investigate PC Augustine for the offense. Perjury is the offense of wilfully telling an untruth in a court of law after having taken an oath. Laddie’s father, Emil Bradley, and attorney Dickie Bradley both reacted to this after the proceedings.
Dickie Bradley
Dickie Bradley, Attorney-at-law
“The trial judge felt that something had to be said in court and it was this extraordinary performance of a police witness who had given a statement, changing his mouth as he goes along. This is a trial in which a child has lost his life, in which a corporal of our police force is on trial for that death. It is tragedy on the two sides. As he is going along, he is changing and the changes are obvious. You could say how you see something. As far as I concern, they were fifty feet away – yo can’t argue with what a person say. But weh this firearm come, weh this got fi do with it. I mean, then his answers are so, there is something at the Placencia Police Station weh yo put yo gun and then that dah weh he gone and put in fi he private gun. And then who keep the key? The key just di dangle right so. But it is a whole long sequence of thing and so I guess the senior crown counsel, Javier Chan, will get in contact with his big boss, the Director of Public Prosecutions to make a report because the judge was not impressed at all that a member of our police force would come to court and do what unfolded. You all were in court, you could see. This is the supreme court of the country, this is the senior court, the high court and you will come in and take everybody for pappyshow like that in a trial that involves death.”
Emil Bradley
Emil Bradley, Father of Laddie Gillett
“I noh want lose it, but mien it is such a shame to see what police officers go through to cover for an innocent life. Dah noh somebody weh mi di give dehn trouble yo know – this dah somebody innocent – and dehn di cover up to that extent, mien I noh know what to say. If the government want show that they want make a change in the police department, this dah di perfect time to weed out all of dehn no good police officers. I noh mean nothing different – no good police officers; the four of them. We have to start somewhere – too bad dah with he and too bad dah with Laddie fi make this start to make we see wah change, but we need fi see wah change. I just give them time up until March di fourteenth. From there, ih wah decide how I wah move if I noh get justice. But fu we justice dah fi he fi do some time and dehn liad police officers get punished. The way dehn testified, dehn not even deserve to be a police.”
Duane Moody
“The judge even mentioned about perjury to one of them.”
Emil Bradley
“It’s such a shame because he is there lying and lying over and over so she wants to know you know weh wah happen to you when you lie in court? So she made it clear. I hope he went and realised what he did.”
