AfriKa CRY BLOOD

I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, 23, of Hutson’s Alley, Reed Street, St Michael, died on June 17, 2008, at Land Lock, St Lucy. The circumstances of his death were investigated by the Coroner’s Court and recently, Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris in her verdict said his death was due to misadventure. The following is Part 6 of an edited version of the verdict which began on Monday. It concludes in tomorrow’s DAILY NATION.

ONCE AGAIN, Walkes, who was particularly sensitive to the situation and who had conveyed as much by way of the time-honoured gesture showing that someone is deranged, asked why he was on the cliff and he said he was under a lot of pressure. Walkes asked him why, Maloney said his back was hurting him…

Walkes then wanted to know from Maloney if he had ever seen a psychiatrist. Headley took Maloney’s ID which had been found in his wallet and went to the van and reported to Operations Control. He told Operations Control that he believed that Maloney’s faculties were not intact and that they would bring him in…

When Headley returned, he told Maloney that he would like him to accompany them to the police station to interview him. These may have seemed like ominous words to a young man of extreme sensitivity… (more…)

I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, 23, of Hutson’s Alley, Reed Street, St Michael, died on June 17, 2008, at Land Lock, St Lucy. The circumstances of his death were investigated by the Coroner’s Court and last Friday, Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris in her verdict said his death was due to misadventure. The following is Part 4 of an edited version of the verdict which began on Monday. It continues in tomorrow’s SUNDAY SUN.

MALONEY HAD certainly never mentioned any personal problems, any problems with work colleagues or with cement dust and sinusitis nor articulated any problems working at Arawak, apart from the temporary status.

Once again the resignation was a total surprise and he thought the response, “I am taking responsibility for my back”, sounded totally unlike Maloney.

It now appeared to Adesegha that when Maloney came to his lab that morning briefly and then left with his bag to see Collymore he had already made up his mind to resign.

Approximately 10:15 that morning, Maloney called his mother who was at her usual spot in Holetown under the trees close to the taxi stand. The conversation between them, as reported seems contradictory. She reported that he said “Mumz, Mumz, Mumz, I feel real good, I fire the work. I was here in Speightstown for a while just checking the scenes and it feels boring and monotonous. (more…)

The question of how I’Akobi met his death has still been left unanswered after approximately 10 months of deliberations both inside and out of court. Although the coroner had dismissed the idea of I’Akobi going to the cliff with the intention of taking his own life, the verdict of misadventure is still debatable.

In her context it was defined as the act of running from the police which inadvertently resulted in his death. Our family vehemently refutes the coroner’s claim in this regard; as the act of running towards what the police perceived to be a 60 ft. drop head first with hands outstretched in this ‘mad’ dash for freedom quintessentially describes the act of suicide.

Although the coroner removed the police’s postulations of why he had taken his life that being (depression, homosexuality, madness and drug association), she inadvertently or intentionally accepted the single report submitted by Headley and Walkes as the irrevocable truth. (more…)

by Maria Bradshaw

THERE MUST BE a full and lawful recognition of the Rastafarian faith if there is to be mutual respect between them and the police.

And this recognition must first come from Government, said secretary of the Justice Committee, Ras KudosSage I.

He was responding to coroner Faith Marshall-Harris’ observation that there was a high level of mistrust between Rastafarians and the police and her call for the Royal Barbados Police Force to examine its relationship with members of the Rastafarian community.

“The first tangible way would be to have the state make some official recognition of Rastafari as a legitimate religious body as is being done in the United States, Jamaica, Italy and other countries.

“That is where everything originates because the ones with the authority tend to neglect the rights of Rastafari and how we worship and practise,” KudosSage argued. (more…)

by TIM SLINGER

Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Darwin Dottin says he’s willing to meet with the Rastafarian community to discuss any problems the group might be facing.

But he wants them and Barbados alike to know that the Royal Barbados Police Force does not engage in singling out any particular group, regardless of race, colour or creed.

“I want to state categorically that the Police Force does not enforce the law by targeting any groups. We carry out our duties without fear or favour and with sensitivity,” Dottin told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday.

He was reacting to charges from the Rastafarian community that dreadlocked I’Akobi Maloney met his death through police profiling.

On Friday, Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris in ruling that the 23-year-old Barbados Exhibition winner’s death was by misadventure, urged the force to look closely at its relationship with the Rastafarian community, saying there was a high level of mistrust.

To this end, Dottin said the force was willing to meet with the community to discuss any issues of concern. (more…)

The Royal Barbados Police Force needs to look closely at its relationship with the Rastafarian community.

This recommendation came from Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris yesterday as she declared the death of Rastafarian I’Akobi Maloney a misadventure and suggested that he may have felt harassed by the barrage of questions from the police and that he “panicked and made a dash for freedom” when asked to escort them to the station.

The coroner noted that there was a high level of mistrust from the Rastafarian community against the police to the extent that Rastafarians had become paranoid and felt that there were constant forms of victimisation against them, even when that did not exist.

ARMED MEMBERS of the police Task Force were on hand to control the crowd at the Coroner's Court after yesterday's verdict into I'Akobi Maloney's death last year.

Tension

“There seems to be a great deal of tension, fear, mistrust and suspicion by the Rastafarian community, but by the same token, the community needs to look carefully at some of their actions which suggest that they are harbouring a victim mentality and may be looking for injustice where it is not intended,” said the coroner.

She was also very critical of how the police officers dealt with Maloney’s mother Marguerita Maloney, saying that they had given her incorrect information and that their actions may have led to the confusion she experienced surrounding her son’s death. (MB)

by Barry Alleyne

LEAVE RASTA ALONE!

That was the clear battle-cry from the Rastafarian community yesterday, moments after Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris determined that former Exhibition winner I’Akobi Maloney dies by misadventure last year.

Tension reached fever-pitch in the small courtyard of the Coroner’s Court on Roebuck Street at 5 p.m., when grieving mother Marguerita Maloney exited the court, raised her hands on the air, shouted “misadventure”, then crumpled to the ground before berating a number of police officers regarding their conduct when I’Akobi died on June 17 last year at Landlock, St Lucy.

The mother’s cries only fuelled emotions, as I’Akobi’s father David, and his younger brother Mandela, also started to shout at police officers stationed at the court.

“I have pictures of my son’s body, brutalised, manhandled,” she said.

“I call on the ancestors to deal with all the perpetrators… This is only an earth verdict,” she said before collapsing for a second time.

Sergeant targeted

Most of the insults, however, were hurled at Sergeant Wingrove Headley, one of the two officers who were on hand at Landlock, and alleged that I’Akobi suddenly ran away from their custody, and jumped over a cliff, 50 feet to his death.

A stoic Headley stood outside the court for a few minutes while more than 30 Rastafarians shouted accusations at him.

In a corner, the Maloney’s attorney Andrew Pilgrim broke down in tears, then receded to the empty courtroom, as the grieving mother was comforted by supporters.

At the gate of the court, armed members of the Royal Barbados Police Force’s Task Force stood on watch, automatic weapons at the ready in case of trouble. Inside, uniformed cops quickly escorted the coroner to her private office after the verdict, then told the crowd to leave. It was 5:07 p.m.

The Rastafarian members, all decked out in red, helped Marguerita to her feet, but continued to hurl insults, and vowed the movement would continue to seek justice.

“This is not the end. This verdict is not the end. This is just the beginning. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back,” father David screamed, whilst pointing and waving a flag of Ethiopia. (more…)

by Maria Bradshaw

I’AKOBI MALONEY was not killed by police, neither did he commit suicide. His death was ruled a misadventure.

SERGEANT WINGROVE HEADLEY (right) being escorted into the officer of the Coroner's Court by uniformed officers yesterday.

Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris handed down this decision yesterday six months after the start of the inquiry into the death of the 23-year-old Exhibition winner whom police said jumped off a 50-ft cliff at Landlock, St Lucy, last June 17, as he was about to be escorted to the Holetown Police Station.

The coroner found there was no evidence to substantiate that Maloney had been unlawfully killed by the police or that he committed suicide.

She surmised that Maloney, a Rastafarian, may have felt some form of harassment when the police requested that he accompany them to the station and so “he panicked and made a sudden dash for freedom”.

But while the coroner cited the mutual distrust between the Rastafarian community and the police and called for improved relations between the two, the verdict was not accepted by the many Rastafarian brethren who turned out yesterday.

They gathered in the courtyard surrounding Maloney’s grieving mother, Marguerita, and let it be known that there would be no peace between them and the police.

Marshall-Harris spent close to two hours reviewing the case and analysing the evidence. (more…)

by Heather Greenidge

TO screams of “Murderer”, “You kill my son”, “Dis is just de beginning”, was how the Coroner’s verdict of “death by misadventure” was greeted yesterday by Marguerita Maloney, mother of I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney, and other relatives and friends.

It was minutes before 5 o’clock when Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris delivered her verdict at the Coroner’s Court, Roebuck Street, St Michael, packed with Maloney’s relatives and friends including his mother and brother, Mandela.

After the Coroner left the courtroom and returned to her chambers, Maloney’s mother and others re-joined the Rastafarian brethren in the courtyard which included his father, David.

Dozens had earlier lined the courtyard but had to remain outside during the verdict for lack of space.

Pointing and calling names of the two officers who were first on the scene at Landlock, St Lucy, where the 23-year-old chemical engineer died on June 17, 2008, Marguerita told Sergeant Wingrove Headley and Police Constable Wendell Walkes… “De inquest end, but dis is just de beginning. De Rasta brethren gine get you.” (more…)

Marguerita Maloney, mother of I'Akobi Maloney, being held up by supporters as she mourns the verdict of the inquest into her son's death. (Pictures by Donnay Deane)

I’AKOBI MALONEY’S death was a misadventure.

That was the verdict arrived at by coroner Faith Marshall-Harris at 5 p.m. this afternoon in the controversial case of the 23 year-old Rastafarian. a former Barbados Exhibitioner who allegedly jumped off a 50 ft cliff at the secluded land Lock, St Lucy, last July 17, while being escorted to the station by two police officers.

Ruling out an open verdict and death by suicide, the Magistrate surmised that Maloney may have felt some form of harassment from the police officers, especially when they requested that he accompany them to the station and that “he made a sudden dash for freedom”.

The verdict caused an uproar among family and supporters of the Maloney family who gathered in the courtyard.

I’Akobi’s grieving mother, Marguerita Maloney exited the court, raised her hands in the air, shouted “misadventure” then crumpled to the ground before berating a number of police officers regarding their conduct when I’Akobi died on June 17 last year at Landlock, St. Lucy.

The mother’s cries only fueled emotions, as I’Akobi’s father David, and his young brother Mandela, also started to shout at police officers stationed at the court.

LEAVING THE COURT: Constable Anthony Walkes, followed by chief investigator into the I’Akobi Maloney death, ASP Curwen Harvey, and Sergeant Wingrove Headley. Walkes and Headley were the two officers who were with Maloney when he allegedly jumped off a cliff.

“WHAT REASON would the police have to harass I’Akobi Maloney? asked police presenter Station Sergeant Martin Jones on Monday when he delivered his address to coroner Faith Marshall-Harris.

“A man who was so intelligent. He was not a criminal. He did not have any convictions. He was not a person who was wanted by the police so we see no reason why the police would go after him,” Jones stated.

He submitted that the reason why Sergeant Wingrove Headley and Constable Anthony Walkes gave their statements 13 days after the incident, was because both officers were traumatised after Maloney pulled away from them and jumped over the cliff.

“They were totally traumatised over what happened on that day. No police officer would have been able to give a statement,” Jones declared, pointing out that the station diary did contain an account of the incident the day after. (more…)

ATTORNEYS Andrew Pilgrim (right) and David Comissiong (second right) speaking to Mandela Maloney, brother of deceased I’Akobi Maloney, as a friend and his mother Marguerita Maloney look on.

DID police officers engage in profiling when they encountered I’Akobi Maloney, a six-foot Rastafarian standing alone on a secluded cliff?

Was there some level of aggression or conflict between them and that Rastaman?

Was he pushed or was he trying to escape?

These were scenarios which attorneys for the Maloney family, Andrew Pilgrim and David Comissiong, submitted to coroner Faith Marshall-Harris during their addresses, when the inquest into the 23 year-old man’s death resumed in the coroner’s court yesterday.

They asked the coroner to reject the evidence of the two police officers Sergeant Wingrove Headley and Constable Anthony Walkes who were with Maloney when he allegedly jumped off a 50-ft cliff to his death.

Comissiong told the court that given that the police had received a report about a boat, a Rastaman and drugs in the area that it was fair to assume they went to Land Lock, St Lucy, “all keyed up”. (more…)

by Maria Bradshaw

JASON COLLYMORE denied yesterday that he had a homosexual relationship with Shon Boyce and reiterated that I’Akobi Maloney never visited his house.

Collymore, a supervisor at the Ararwak Cement Plant, told Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris yesterday at the coroner’s inquest into Maloney’s death that everything Boyce told the court last week was “absolutely untrue”.

Taking the witness stand for the third time during the inquest, he told the court that three days after giving his testimony on January 13, he received a telephone call from Boyce.

“He said to me how come he was involved in the inquest, that the police was pressuring him to make a statement that I was a homosexual and that he saw I’Akobi at my house.”

Collymore said he was so frustrated that week with the number of calls he had been receiving from family and friends that he told Boyce “do what you want to do” and then pressed out the phone. (more…)

A NEW WITNESS took the stand yesterday at the I’Akobi Maloney Inquest at Coroner’s Court.

Shon Boyce, who admitted to being a homosexual from his childhood days said he was introduced to Jason Collymore, a former witness at the inquest, in 2003.

He was introduced to Collymore, he said, and they subsequently got involved in a same-sex relationship where he was the outside man, since Collymore, who works at the Cement Plant, told him that he had a Rastaman and he, Boyce, should never come to the house when the man was there.

He said Collymore lived at White Hall Main Road in an apartment, and he did not know the Rastaman’s name as it was never told to him, but he used to pass a man on the stairway going down smiling as he would be going up. (more…)

AS CORONER FAITH MARSHALL-HARRIS prepares to conclude her investigation into the death of 23-year-old I’Akobi Maloney, she has expressed concern about witnesses which the Maloney family want her to summon.

When the inquest continued yesterday, the coroner said she received a request on January 19 from David Comissiong, who is representing the Maloney family, suggesting that she should hear evidence from Trinidadian Adana Jacobs - Maloney’s former girlfriend.

But she stated that she would not be prepared to have Jacobs brought to Barbados unless her evidence was relevant to the case. (more…)

THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR who carried out the investigations into the death of I’Akobi Maloney said yesterday he was not concerned that the statements of the two police officers who were with Maloney when he died, were identical.

Assistant Superintendent Curvan Harvey told the coroner’s inquest investigating the young man’s death that he was more concerned about the typographical errors contained in the statements.

At the time he was being questioned by Andrew Pilgrim who is representing the Maloney family. (more…)

Harvey (centre) leaving the inquest yesterday evening followed by Headley (left) and Walkes. Picture by Sandy Pitt.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Curvan Harvey was grilled by attorney Andrew Pilgrim yesterday when he gave evidence at the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of 23-year-old I’Akobi Maloney.

ASP Harvey was the senior officer who carried out the investigations into the incident. He was questioned extensively about how he conducted the investigations and the statements he obtained, particularly those from the two police officers, Sergeant Wingrove Headley and Constable Wendell Walkes, who were with Maloney when he allegedly jumped off a 50ft cliff at Land Lock, St Lucy.

He was also criticised by the attorney for failing to carry out a scientific examination of the firearms which were issued to the two officers.

I’AKOBI MALONEY was actively searching for another job.

His younger brother, Mandela Maloney, disclosed this at the Coroner’s Inquest into his death on Monday.

He told the court that his brother, who obtained an engineering degree at the St Augustine Campus in Trinidad was “dissatisfied with the conditions at the Arawak Cement Plant” and felt that the conditions there were not challenging enough.

Mandela pointed out that his brother started developing asthma and sinusitis and he believed it was because of the dust at the St Lucy plant. (more…)

AN ATTORNEY has suggested that police officers who were dispatched to Land Lock, St Lucy on the day I’Akobi Maloney died conspired to say they did not see how he died.

Andrew Pilgrim, who is representing the Maloney family, made this comment after Constables Anderson Ellis and Kevin Boyce said they did not focus on Land Lock on June 17, even though they were each in close proximity to the area.

Ellis said he was dispatched to Cove Bay and that he was focussing on a white boat which was out at sea.

He stated that he heard Sergeant Wingrove Headley transmitting on the VHF radio that he had Maloney in custody but he never looked over to Land Lock which was next to Cove Bay because he was busy looking at the boat. (more…)

CORONER Faith Marshall-Harris yesterday appealed to persons who were “sprinkling dust” around the court to desist from this habit.

She made the request when the inquest into the death of I’Akobi Maloney continued yesterday at the Coroners Court.

Stating that she was trying her best to conduct the inquest fairly, Marshall-Harris told the court: “I don’t like it and I wish it would stop, the situation of persons sprinkling dust or whatever it is over the court office. Please desist from doing it. It is defacing and littering Government property. It is not desirable.”

She also asked persons not to bring signs and slogans into the court.

“I do not think it is appropriate. Please let us operate with some degree of professional objectivity,” she stated.

CORONER Faith Marshall-Harris said she summoned two employees at the Arawak Cement Plant to give evidence at the inquest into the death of I’Akobi Maloney because she had been receiving anonymous reports that they were involved in a relationship with the deceased.

Process engineers James Walker and Jason Collymore both gave police statements denying that they were involved in a homosexual relationship with the 23-year-old scholar who police say jumped over a cliff to his death on June 17 last year. (more…)

I’AKOBI MALONEY was yesterday described as very creative, intelligent and someone who was not impulsive.

Best friends Ayesha Delpeche and Renaldo Depeiza both gave evidence at the Coroner’s inquest into the tragic death of the young man.

Delpeche said she had known Maloney for about six years. She said that while he never expressed any concerns about his work to her she was not surprised to learn that he had resigned from his job.

“He was a very creative individual. I know he was interested in exploring creative things and he use to go around people who were poets and musicians”, she stated. (more…)

by MARIA BRADSHAW

CORONER Faith Marshall-Harris may revisit the locus in quo at Landlock, St Lucy, where I’Akobi Maloney met his death, to clarify the geography of the area.

From the start of the inquest witnesses have been referring to Landlock as either Cove Bay or Little Bay, areas on either side of Land Lock, and the coroner believes that this may have led to confusion about where Maloney died.

She made this observation on Monday while she continued the inquest into the young man’s death. (more…)

I’AKOBI MALONEY “jumped” 50 feet down from a cliff at Land Lock, St Lucy, and not 80 feet as originally stated by police.

The correct measurement was given by Sergeant Roger Mayers, a scenes-of-collision reconstructionist.

Mayers, who was deemed an expert witness by Coroner Faith Marshall-Harris, testified during the inquest into Maloney’s death on Monday and produced a sketch he made of the scene detailing all the relevant measurements.

He told the court that he reconstructed the scene on August 6, as pointed out to him by Sergeant Wingrove Headley and Constable Wendell Walkes, the two policemen who were with Maloney when he “jumped” over the cliff. (more…)

CORONER FAITH MARSHALL-HARRIS again expressed concern about two identical statements given by two police officers who testified on Monday during the inquest into the death of 23-year-old I’Akobi Maloney.

Sergeant Trevor Reece and Constable Sandra Dottin were the two police officers who visited Marguerita Maloney’s home on June 17, to inform her about the death of her son.

When they took the witness stand they each read individual statements which were so identical that it prompted attorney-at-law Andrew Pilgrim to ask them if they wrote the statements together.

While both officers denied doing so, Coroner Marshall-Harris was very critical about the similarity in police officers’ statements.

“They are identical word for word,” she stated. (more…)

A THREAT has been made against one of the police officers who was with I’Akobi Maloney at Land Lock, St Lucy, when he died.

The DAILY NATION understands that a stone was thrown through the window of Acting Sergeant Walter Headley’s home last week, wrapped in newspaper with the words: “You are a dead man Mr Headley”, written on it.

According to a senior police officer, the newspaper also carried a report of Headley’s testimony at the Coroner’s Inquest into Maloney’s death.

The police are now investigating the matter. (more…)

by MARIA BRADSHAW

MEMBERS of the Caribbean Rastafari Organisation Inc. (CRO) offered a libation at Land Lock, St Lucy, yesterday, giving up prayers for their deceased brethren I’Akobi Tacuma Maloney.

About 50 Rastafarians, including Maloney’s mother Marguerita and brother Mandela, gathered on the cliff where the 23-year-old former Barbados Exhibitioner was said to have jumped 80 feet down to his death.

There they prayed, chanted and sang for close to an hour. They also held hands in a circle shouting “Haile Selassie I” and”Jah Rastafari” as individual members offered prayers for Maloney’s family and for justice to prevail. They also walked three laps around in a circle, singing and chanting all the while. (more…)

I’AKOBI MALONEY did not sustain a single broken bone after falling 80 feet from a cliff to his death.

But pathologist, Dr Carl Winskog said that was not unusual.

“You would assume there would be broken bones, but that is not a certain fact,” he stated under cross examination by Andrew Pilgrim.

He explained that the absence of broken bones could be for a number of reasons including how the body fell and the surface it fell on. But he admitted that if it was a hard surface like a rock the chances of broken bones would be higher, although he pointed out that the waves could have cushioned the blow to Maloney’s body.

Dr Winskog reported that there was damage to Maloney’s abdomen and he also had a ruptured liver. (more…)