Breathalyser devices faulty – another cop walks free

A court has discharged another police officer after evidence in his driving under the influence trial emerged that the breathalyser devices used by the police were faulty.

PC Ramchan Downes faced scrutiny during a four-day trial at the Princes Town Magistrates Court on a charge of driving a police vehicle under the influence in 2019 in Rio Claro. He was on suspension since 2019, when he was charged.

On November 21, he was discharged by Magistrate Ava Vandenburg-Bailey.

At the trial, Downes’s attorney Terry Boyer elicited from police witnesses evidence that the breathalyser devices were not properly calibrated because there was no gas to calibrate them.

He presented calibration records to highlight irregularities in the use and maintenance of the breathalyser devices.

Cpl Birbal-Connell of the Rio Claro Police Station revealed under cross-examination that calibration of the breathalyser devices was not done for a long period – a critical prerequisite for valid tests – as the defence contended.

When confronted with the records, breathalyser expert Cpl Heeraman admitted he was told by an inspector that the devices were functioning correctly. The court also heard that alcohol calibration gas, essential for device validation, was unavailable at the time.

Heeraman also admitted he did not conduct a field breath test, another prerequisite for a breath test, or check the calibration records.

Boyer argued that the charges against Downes were flawed due to procedural lapses and claimed his client was unfairly targeted following an unrelated incident involving another driver.

It was also Downes’s defence that he confiscated a driver's permit from a man accused of dangerous driving, who later fled the scene, and was seen at the police station sometime later.

Downes alleged a senior officer instructed a junior officer to retrieve the said permit from Downes in order to “let the driver off.”

It came out at the trial that the driver who Downes had stopped, was never been charged for driving off on a police officer or for dangerous driving.

Josanne Forrester, representing the prosecution, called five witnesses.

Earlier this week, 12 police officers were discharged by the courts in two separate cases for either the failure to prosecute or insufficient evidence, prompting calls for the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General and the Minister of National Security to address acute systemic failures that allowed cases to falter due to prosecutorial missteps and delays.