BY PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE cousin of Dino Bain, who was shot and killed by police in 2023, yesterday contradicted details allegedly provided by the police officer implicated in the case, telling the court he did not see a gun in the direction the officer claimed it had been thrown.

Quinton Strachan gave evidence yesterday during the continued inquest into Bain’s deaths.

Bain was fatally shot by a reserve officer in a backyard on Dean Street on December 28, 2023.

Reserve Police Constable 3099 Franklyn Armbrister, the officer implicated in the case, claimed that Bain pointed a weapon at him, but Bain’s family insists he was unarmed.

Testimony from the officer in charge of the search operation also contradicted the officer’s account, noting that there was no evidence that Bain was armed despite his claims.

Yesterday, Strachan told the court he was working on his car when police arrived in the Dean Street area.

Accustomed to seeing officers in the neighbourhood, Strachan said he kept his tools raised in the air while authorities searched him.

Shortly after, he and nearby officers heard a gunshot.

When he asked what had happened, he was told the shot came from the opposite direction.

Moments later, someone informed him that “DJ had been shot”. Strachan said he was handcuffed for about five minutes before being released.

He testified that, despite PC Armbrister’s claims that a gun was thrown toward them, neither he nor officers nearby saw any weapon, and no firearm was recovered at the scene.

Dr Caryn Sands, who conducted Bain’s autopsy on January 17, 2024, confirmed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back. 

She said the bullet entered from the right side of Bain’s back, passed through his spine, lung, and trachea, and exited above his left collarbone.

The pathologist said the bullet traveled upward, indicating Bain was likely bent forward when shot. She noted he would have suffered internal bleeding, compromised breathing, and would not have died immediately.

Dr Sands added that Bain was a healthy man prior to the shooting.

After reviewing surveillance footage, she said it was possible Bain was shot as he tried to turn and run. The footage showed Bain on his phone, attempting to flee, before collapsing and coughing up blood.

Inspector Henrington Curry testified that he examined PC Armbrister’s Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, a 9mm magazine, 14 rounds of ammunition, and a fired casing recovered at the scene.

He confirmed the weapon was functional and that the casing matched the gun. Curry also used two of the 14 rounds to test the firearm.

The evidence was marshalled by Angelo Whitfield, while Kara Turnquest Deveaux served as coroner. K Melvin Munroe represented Bain’s estate, while Glendon Rolle represented PC Armbrister.