By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

There was no evidence that a man shot dead by police was armed despite the officer who pulled the trigger insisting he was, an inquest heard yesterday.

The officer in charge of the search operation for the weapon said two different sets of security footage showed no evidence 27-year-old Dino Bain had a gun.

Dramatic bodycam footage of the incident was shown to a jury at a Coroner’s Court yesterday. It showed the officer who shot Bain, Reserve Police Constable 3099 Franklyn Armbister, cursing before drawing his weapon in the back of a police vehicle as he arrived in the area of Bain’s home to serve a warrant for his brother’s arrest.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Jason Fernander told the inquest that drawing a gun inside a police vehicle was unsafe practice. 

Officers are trained to holster weapons in vehicles at all times as long as there is no immediate threat and that safety was paramount.

At no point in the footage did Armbrister identify himself as an officer before discharging his weapon.

PC Armbister insisted Bain “threw the gun” but a thorough search of the area following the fatal shooting showed no evidence of a gun. Bain’s family insisted he was unarmed.

The bodycam footage showed an officer ordering Bain to not move before he was shot and killed running away in a backyard on Dean Street on December 28, 2023.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Deon Rudon entered the bodycam footage of PC Armbrister as evidence before Coroner Kara Turnquest Deveaux. It showed PC Armbrister in the back of a police cruiser with Corporal Rahming and then Police Constable 4745 Clifford Bain in front.

The officer was seen entering a yard and ordering two men to leave before entering a residence with his weapon still drawn.

One resident could be heard saying police came in ready to shoot while another indicated there was a baby in the house.

Following the shooting, PC Armbrister along with other officers are seen climbing a fence and moving along rooftops in search of the suspect’s alleged weapon. During this point, an officer is heard screaming “he threw the (expletive) gun”. Around the same time, a distressed crowd is heard screaming in distance.

ASP Fernander testified he was the officer in charge of the saturation patrol unit that conducted the search of 28 Dean Street.

ASP Fernander said he briefed the team, which included Cpl Rolle and PCs Bain and Armbrister, at Quakoo Station that they were executing a search warrant for Emmanuel “Manny” Bain for possession of drugs and firearms.

Upon arriving at the scene, ASP Fernander instructed officers to carefully surround the building for the safety of both themselves and residents.

The officer said while he was at the front of the building speaking with a woman he heard a single gunshot from the rear of residence.

When he went to the back of the building, he saw PC Armbrister standing on a stone wall with his gun drawn and pointing over a fence in a eastern direction. He recalled that PC Armbrister said “gun, gun. He had a gun”.

At that point, ASP Fernander believed the reserve officer saw a threat and engaged it. He was told by the officer that he shot the deceased. ASP Fernander said PC Armbrister claimed the deceased pointed a weapon in his direction, causing him to open fire.

ASP Fernander recalled instructing officers to secure the scene, only for a large crowd to come into the yard seconds later. He said he called the control room for assistance as the crowd overwhelmed them.

ASP Fernander said he encountered PC Armbrister in the yard adjacent to 28 Dean Street. When he observed the body of the deceased, he saw a black cellphone near his head.

Later, ASP Fernander stated he relieved PC Armbrister of his Sig Sauer service weapon at Police Headquarters. ASP Fernander handed over the same gun to an investigator at the Central Detective Unit.

ASP Fernander said no gun was ever recovered at the scene of shooting.

While shown PC Armbrister’s bodycam footage, ASP Fernander said it was unsafe for him to draw his weapon in the car.

ASP Fernander told Angelo Whitfield, the evidence marshal, he had not served the warrant by the time PC Armbrister entered the house.

He said that Cpl Rahming called emergency medical services at the scene. However, he could not say if the person who was shot was ever taken to the hospital.

Security camera footage from a house in the area was played that showed the deceased hopping a fence at 2.39pm before going offscreen. The deceased is seen reentering the frame at 2.42pm talking on a black phone.

Another security camera captured the deceased at a different angle on his phone. The deceased is seen running away only to apparently be shot and fall to the floor. Although he briefly holds his head up in the footage, he eventually collapses flat in a pool of blood.

After viewing this footage, ASP Fernander said that at no point did he see the deceased with a weapon.

He said it was standard procedure to remove any weapon from a suspect after they’ve been engaged.

However, as the footage of the deceased lying on the ground continued to play, PC Armbrister is seen passing him without stopping.

ASP Fernander said PC Armbrister did not describe who threw the weapon.

ASP Fernander agreed with Glendon Rolle, PC Armbrister’s attorney, that no textbook could prepare an officer for how to proceed on an active scene.

ASP Fernander told K Melvin Munroe, the attorney for the deceased’s estate, he did not go to the site immediately before the operation. However, he said he went to the residence in the past in search of drugs and firearms.

He said the deceased was known to police.

He could not recall if he ever arrested Emmanuel. Despite this, he claimed he stopped and searched both Emmanuel and Dino at the residence before.

ASP Fernander told Mr Munroe he did not instruct PC Armbrister to rush onto the scene. He agreed with Mr Munroe that PC Armbrister did not follow his orders.

Coroner Deveaux told the officer there was no mention of EMS being contacted in his report. He responded that he contacted the control room for help and they would have dispatched necessary assistance.

After being shown the search warrant used at the scene, ASP Fernander agreed it was incomplete and that his signature was not on it.

Detective Constable Clifford Bain testified he accompanied PC Armbrister to execute a search warrant and that they arrived sometime after 2.30pm.

He said PC Armbrister exited the vehicle first. DC Bain said he entered the western side of an occupied building and helped clear the house. Two minutes later, while with other officers were attempting to open a gate, DC Bain said he heard a single gunshot and he thought it was a firecracker at first. He could not recall where Armbrister went at that point.

He recalled an officer came running from that direction screaming “gun” but could not remember who that officer was. He claimed the person was a constable. He said he holstered his weapon at some point during the search of the house but drew it after hearing gunshot.

DC Bain said PC Armbrister told him the deceased had a gun multiple times. Although officers searched the immediate area, they could not find the gun.

While being shown PC Armbrister’s bodycam footage in the car, he said he was unaware the gun was so close to his back at the time. DC Bain said the weapon should not have been unholstered in the car.

DC Bain told Mr Rolle he was prepped prior to the operation that the site was a known drug and firearm sale house. He was also told to be on high alert.

He agreed with Mr Rolle that PC Armbrister fired on his perception of a threat and nothing could prepare officer for the threats they face in the field.

He went on to say the area was hostile at the time of the shooting and that both his adrenaline and blood was flowing.

DC Bain told Mr Munroe he was given the name of the suspect they were looking for. He claimed they found the individual they were looking for in the vicinity of the deceased’s body. He further said the person they were looking for was the deceased’s brother.

However, he could not say what happened to this individual after the shooting,

He said nothing illegal was found at the scene but he couldn’t say if the brother’s home was searched.

The officer assumed PC Armbrister was not in possession of a search warrant when they entered the house.

DC Bain told Coroner Deveaux that three to four police units, consisting of about ten officers, went to the area.

He said ASP Fernander was in charge of the operation.