Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A police officer has been acquitted of assaulting a motorist after a minor car accident.
Kurt Warner was found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at the end of his judge-alone trial before Justice Mauriceia Joseph-Patrick at the Trinidad South District Court in Princes Town yesterday.
Warner was accused of assaulting a man while off duty.
According to Warner, the alleged victim’s car struck the wing mirror of his personal vehicle.
The man drove away, but Warner chased after him.
When he eventually intercepted the car, he identified himself as a police officer.
However, the man allegedly drove the car towards Warner, who was standing in the middle of the road.
Warner remained on the car’s bonnet for approximately 45 seconds before the man crashed the vehicle into a ditch at the side of the road.
Presenting submissions at the end of the trial, Warner’s attorneys, Wade Ceballo and Arielle Edwards, argued that Warner was acting in self-defence and within his lawful authority to prevent a crime.
Justice Joseph-Patrick agreed and found Warner not guilty.
