– riot squad leader
Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd yesterday said he believed that if he and his riot unit had remained on standby at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge, the situation at Linden could have been better managed on July 18, when three persons were killed and others wounded.
“I think it was bad in judgment to have the unit locate themselves in the centre of the crowd. I think it would be better to remove away from the crowd and put on standby to observe,” Todd said under questioning by Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal, one of the members of the Commission of Inquiry into the Linden protestor shootings.
Seetahal had asked Todd whether he believed it was best to have his unit return to the Mackenzie Police Station during the morning rather than remain at the bridge.
Audio Recording of COI Hearing
Last week, Todd had testified that he first went to the bridge around 11 am on the day of the shooting and he found about 800 persons blocking the area as part of the protest against an increase in electricity tariffs. He said he took no action but stood his ground with the unit until former E&F Division Commander Clifton Hicken instructed him and the ranks to return to the Mackenzie Police Station. At 6 pm, Todd said, Hicken instructed the unit to report to the bridge and to have it cleared by nightfall.
