10 cops freed of assault charges

Ten out of 11 police officers who were charged with misbehaviour in public office and perverting the course of justice when they allegedly doused a suspect, Ralph Andre Lewis, with hot water during an interrogation in February 2015.

Only one of the group – Giselle Skeete – will stand trial for the charges.

The 11 cops stood before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay on Wednesday at the Sangre Grande Magistrates court to hear the results of a preliminary inquiry conducted in the matter.

Dubay found the evidence presented in the inquiry was manifestly unreliable for most of the officers and while Skeete seemed complicit in the incident, there was insufficient evidence to link the rest to participating in the offence.

Skeet will stand before a high court judge at the next sitting.

Lewis claimed in 2015, he went to the Sangre Grande Police Station after learning he was wanted in connection with house-breaking and larceny incidents.

He said he was detained overnight and in the morning while being interrogated he was stripped naked and ordered to confess to the crimes. When he refused they allegedly poured the hot water on his lower extremities, burning his genitals and buttocks and hospitalising him for a week.