Station Sergeant Troy Small tearfully recalled that after the police vehicle he was driving collided with a car at a St Michael intersection, he called for help, rushed to give the other driver assistance, and held the man until the ambulance arrived.
And he said he has struggled with depression since the accident that claimed the life of motorist Denzill Allman.
Small, of Hoytes Terrace, St James, is charged with causing the death of Allman by driving a police vehicle on Black Rock Main Road, St Michael, at a speed and in a manner dangerous to the public, on December 8, 2021.
“I have been depressed since that night, and hearing that he had no signs of life, it actually broke my heart. There is not a day that I do not think about him,” the police officer said on the witness stand on Thursday.
As his trial continued in the No. 5 Supreme Court, Small told the nine-member jury that on that evening, he was on mobile patrol with Police Constable Kevin Miller. They made several safety checks of businesses in Warrens, Redmans Village and Holders Hill and were doing the same at the service station at Payne’s Bay when a broadcast came through from the operations centre ordering units to respond to a man wanting to commit suicide while armed with a knife.
Small said that as they were leaving the service station, another broadcast related to the same incident came through. However, he chose not to respond at that time, believing they were too far from the location. It was only after a subsequent broadcast requested all units to respond that he activated the vehicle’s interior beacon and began heading to the scene. A later update revealed that the man threatening suicide had been in a relationship with the woman who contacted the police, and that her call had ended abruptly, raising fears for her safety. At this stage, Small said he engaged all beacons and the siren. The police vehicle was in Prospect, St James, at that time.
“The lights on the inside, the truck beacon, as well as the lights to the back of the windscreen, at the front of the grill and fog lights attached to the vehicle also flickered, and the curb lights at the rear. The vehicle was totally lit up, and the siren was loud. From my travels from Prospect along Highway One, I could see the lights on all the buildings. It was different because it was a new lighting system,” he said.
The policeman said that other drivers were aware of his approach as they were yielding from a distance. He said there was traffic when they reached the Psychiatric Hospital, and other drivers were pulling to the side, allowing him to pass.
“When I got by Channel [Supermarket] complex, I overtook a Transport Board bus. I saw the lights were on red and I started to slow down. I saw a pick-up in the middle of the road. It looked like it was blocking the road. When I got back into the left lane, I was slowing down and analysing the junction. The pick-up moved…I understood that he was giving me the right of way. I saw a clear path. I did not expect, having seen that clear path, for anybody else to pass, and I continued. As I continued and passed the lights into the junction, then the vehicle came in my path and I braked…. Miller shouted ‘Stop!’ I braked the same time and we collided.
“When I oriented myself, I asked Miller if he was okay. I got out of the vehicle and saw the driver, and he wasn’t moving. I rushed to him. I called for help, and I tried to get in the vehicle, but I couldn’t. I took off my vest, and I tried to climb through the back door, and I couldn’t get in. Constable MIller came afterwards and tried to assist me in getting in the vehicle. I can’t recall how we got in, but I rushed in and felt him, and I told Miller to hold his head and showed him how to stabilise (Allman). I got the passenger door open and tried to do a rapid assessment, and I continued to check his vitals. I felt a faint pulse, and I held him. I held him until the ambulance came, and I allowed them to do his vitals, and they told me he had no signs of life,” he said tearfully, looking down and shaking his head.
Small testified that since the accident, he has suffered from post-traumatic stress and depression.
He told the court that he had been driving police vehicles since 2002/2003 and had never been in an accident while responding to an emergency.
During cross-examination, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney pointed to Regulation 32 of the Road Traffic Regulations, saying it outlined that other road users should move to the left and stop on the approach of an emergency vehicle.
“It has been suggested by your counsel that Regulation 32 gives police officers the right of way to break other traffic laws. Do you agree with that?” Delaney asked.
Small replied that it “gives police officers the ability to manoeuvre in a way that the general public is not supposed to.”
He stated that police officers, when responding to emergencies, will breach stop signs, traffic lights and no entry signs “as long as it was safe to do so”.
Pointing to the security camera footage of the intersection as the police vehicle approached, Delaney stated, “As you said to us before, you couldn’t see the other traffic in Fairfield, so you wouldn’t have been able to see whether there was a vehicle still in here behind the Hilux?”
“When the Hilux moved, I saw a space,” the accused stated.
“But you did not look to see whether other cars were coming from Fairfield?” she asked.
“No, Ma’am”, he replied.
“Even though they had a green light and you had a red light?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Small agreed.
Delaney later pointed out that while some traffic regulations had exemptions specifically for emergency personnel, Regulation 112, which speaks to traffic lights, listed none.
Small testified that the use of his beacon and siren “takes substantial authority over the lights”.
“On the night of the motor vehicle accident, Mr Allman was not breaking the law when he was complying with his green light,” the prosecutor stated.
“Mr Allman was not complying with the regulation, which is part of the law,” he answered.
“And part of the law is also that police should stop at the red light because they are not exempt from the red light regulation. So you were the person breaking the law,” Delaney continued.
“Ma’am, when police are responding to emergencies… we proceed through the red light. We do not come to a complete stop,” Small replied.
Senior Counsel Arthur Holder and attorneys Ensley Grainger and Brandi Browne represent Small.
Justice Pamela Beckles presides.
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