Marine police allowed the wreckage of a boat involved in the fatal Anse Cochon collision to be towed away by its owner, a responding officer has testified, acknowledging that police could have stopped its removal.
Police Constable Hazel Innocent told the Commission of Inquiry investigating the July 18 collision that officers encountered Ocean Angel 1 towing the overturned, partially submerged Ocean Angel 3 towards Soufriere.
“Yes, we allowed them to carry on,” he said under questioning.
Asked whether the towing could have been stopped, Innocent replied: “It could have been stopped.”
The exchange brought the handling of potential evidence into focus as commissioners questioned why a vessel involved in the collision was allowed to leave without being secured by police.
Innocent, who said he had been a police officer for a little under two years and had been assigned to the Marine Unit from the outset, was asked about the unit’s established protocol for securing vessels involved in maritime collisions.
“I am not aware of any protocols for such,” he answered.
He also said he did not know whether boats involved in collisions could be towed away without authorisation from investigative authorities.
Asked whether he or his colleagues had been concerned that removing Ocean Angel 3 could result in the loss of evidence, Innocent answered: “Yes, somewhat.”
He explained that the damaged vessel was already partially submerged and that recovering evidence would have become more difficult if it sank completely.
When pressed on why police had allowed another vessel to remove it instead of securing it themselves, he noted that it was already under tow.
According to Innocent, the captain of Ocean Angel 1 identified himself as Ron Nicholas and said he had been called to help recover Ocean Angel 3. Asked how officers established ownership, Innocent said they asked the man, who identified himself as the owner.
A commissioner also questioned why police secured the yacht Ibis, which was the subject of a separate reported robbery in the same bay, while allowing the collision wreckage to leave.
“I would not be aware. That’s beyond me,” Innocent responded.
His evidence described officers responding to two emergencies with limited information. Both police boats initially departed for the collision, but a report of a robbery in progress reached them while they were heading out.
Innocent said he received no specific instruction assigning each crew to a particular incident. When his boat, PO8, arrived, PO10 was attending to Ibis.
Officers subsequently approached Finding Nemo, a vessel carrying collision survivors, and learnt that four people were missing.
Among those aboard was the captain of Ocean Angel 3, whom Innocent described as distressed and bleeding heavily from his head. Officers advised him to seek medical attention.
During the subsequent search, a woman’s body was found floating among debris and recovered by the crew of PO10. Innocent said PO8 continued searching until it was relieved the following morning.
His testimony did not establish whether evidence was ultimately lost or whether the wreckage was subsequently secured and examined. It left unanswered why police permitted its removal and what safeguards, if any, accompanied that decision.
