Will Police Constable Richard Polonio be charged for killing 49 year old Alexander Herrera? Well that’s just what the Director of Public Prosecutions is considering tonight. DPP Cheryl Lynn Branker Taitt today confirmed that she has received the case file from police and is reviewing it. But that review is incomplete because she is waiting to get the accounts from independent witnesses.
The case file presently only has the police version of the events, and the brother of the deceased Peter Herrera has promised to provide additional statements from independent witnesses. He told the DPP that his witnesses are reluctant to give their statements to police, so they will give it to an independent attorney. The DPP told us that those were supposed to be forthcoming today and she will make a decision only after she has them. But without them, the file does not have evidence to justify charges against PC Polonio, and that’s where it stands tonight.
And while the DPP is pending review, other sources in the Police Department tell 7NEWS that criminal charges are likely to be brought against Polonio and the other officers who were with him, Corporal August and PC Jenkins could also face lesser charges. The police senior command has still not decided if it will place them under interdiction. Polonio is the officer who is reported to have fired the shotgun that killed Herrera.
