SENIOR Police Superintendent Clifton Hicken was allowed to leave the witness stand after enduring three days of intense cross-examination by state, defence and police attorneys, members of the Commission of Inquiry (COI), and attorneys representing the interests of the deceased.

Officer Hicken had been asked a number of potent questions, to all of which he continued his firm, reasoned answers and explanations to the attorneys and commissioners as they intervened.
Asked by attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes about his association with the Minister of Home Affairs, Hicken confirmed that this association was effective only at forums where senior officers were present, and that there had been no one-on-one contact and/or conversation at any time between himself and the minister, especially during July 18, 2012.
Hughes questioned Hicken on the FN rifle, but detailed aspects of technical specifications were not clearly asked, and Hicken was unable to answer the questions.
Questions regarding the support and structure of the unit, its logistics, stores and equipment in terms of ammunition were referred to Assistant Superintendent Todd, who was scheduled to take the stand next.
The debate on dissemination of instructions to the TSU unit caused a verbal battle between Hughes and Hicken, as the latter clearly outlined the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Guyana Police Force in riot operations.
Hicken later referred the CoI to ASP Todd, who was in direct command of the unit, for clarification in relation to their questions.
Attorney Nigel Hughes charged that Snr. Supt. Hicken had been involved in at least ten telephone conversations with Home Affairs Minister Rohee on the day in question. He promised to verify this contention at a later stage in the proceedings.
Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd was brought to the stand, where he took the oath and police attorney Peter Hugh commenced cross-examining him.
Hugh asked the officer to identify himself and the unit he was in charge of on the day in question. ASP Todd was then asked to detail his activities on the posting to Linden, and he gave a chronological outline of the activities.
Asked about details of the half unit and its standard operating procedure, Todd gave clear, succinct answers, even detailing ranks, ammunition and other stores in their possession.
Todd described how the ranks were dressed on arrival in Linden on July 18, and described the uniforms as the national uniform of the TSU. He noted that ranks were first admonished to adhere to the standard operating procedure by Senior Superintendent Hicken at about 11:30hrs, before they were deployed to the MackenzieWismar bridge.
He noted that he was contacted by Senior Superintendent Linden Alves of the TSU and was reminded of the standard operating procedure to be followed at the scene.
He explained the SOP in detail, and related the formation on ranks under his control as he awaited further instructions from Senior Superintendent Hicken.
He said he was instructed by Senior Superintendent Hicken to bring the ranks back to the Mackenzie Police Station, and he complied with the instruction.
He said that, at about 17:55hrs, he was again instructed  by Hicken to return to the bridge; and was told that Hicken was awaiting instructions from the Commissioner of Police to clear the bridge. The instruction was eventually given, and the operation began.
ASP Todd explained the entire operation on his return to the bridge. He said the crowd swarmed the TSU Unit and began chanting and spitting on the ground. He stayed and supported his unit, reading the proclamation and sounding the siren to get the protestors’ attention, and this action continued for about 15 minutes.
He noted that, on doing this, he spoke to the protestors, informing them of their unlawful gathering, and he continued to inform them to return to their place of business, thus following the Guyana Police Force standard operating procedure.
He said he took command of the tear smoke, and fired it at the protestors as his unit advanced to begin clearing the bridge.
He told the CoI that during this entire episode, the unit came under attack from stones and bottles which were thrown at them continuously as they continued to execute their procedure towards the objective of clearing the bridge, especially since nightfall was approaching.
Todd said he heard a loud explosion on the western side of the bridge as he and his unit got closer to the eastern side of the bridge, and he found plywood, stones, iron, and other scrap metal blocking the entrance of the bridge. He said he ordered his unit to clear the path.
He noted that, all this time, protestors continued to pelt bottles, stones and other materials, and another loud explosion with a large ball of fire was seen at the centre of the bridge.
He said he then made a cell call to Commander Hicken, informing him of the situation, while continuing to smoke and fend the crowd off as per the SOP. He said he managed to reach the centre of the bridge, where he found large pots and coals, which indicated that there was cooking activity ongoing on the bridge.
As he continued to inform the CoI of his activities, it was clear he had kept within the parameters of the SoP, and was successful in clearing the bridge when he called Commander Hicken to tell him.
One of the ranks then informed him that his family was under threat by a group of protestors, who had begun stoning the home of his mother and brother, and this was conveyed to the commander, who dispatched support.
Todd said that a second call relayed information that some persons had been injured on the eastern side of the bridge, and had been taken to the Linden Hospital; and this information was relayed to Commander Hicken.
The bridge was then secured with ranks from the half unit being deployed on both the eastern and western sides, after which the TSU commanding officer Linden Alves informed ASP Todd that a support unit was on its way.
This unit arrived and relieved the half unit, which was then ordered back to the Mackenzie Police Station.
The following day, ASP Todd said, he was relieved of his command and returned to the TSU base in Georgetown, where he was asked to detail the operation in a written statement.
Asked by police attorney Peter Hugh if, at the time of arrival at the bridge on the morning in question, he had seen Commander Hicken speaking to Sharma Solomon, Todd said he did not. Asked if he had seen the commander speaking to Lincoln Lewis, Todd replied in the affirmative.
Asked to describe the composition of the crowd, Todd indicated that it had been made up of elderly women and children and young men without shirts, and he estimated its size at approximately 800 persons and growing.
Attorney Hugh then asked Todd about the distance he was from the crowd when he fired the first shot. His reply indicated that he was about 150 metres from the crowd, and he said he discharged the round towards the crowd to scare them off.
Attorney for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Mr. James Bond commenced cross-examination for the first time in the commission of inquiry, asking Todd about his experience in crowd disbursement. The officer told him that his experience went back to 1992, when he was on all the elections operations, and had experienced over 100 confrontations with crowds, 25 of which occurred whilst he was commanding ranks.
Asked about the experience of the half unit, he detailed the experience of various members and their respective duties and functions in the unit on the day in question, using the recorded information in the various books to aid his explanations.
The commission will continue its work tomorrow.