‘You must die!’

A police sergeant testified on Friday that he opened gunfire on a knife-wielding male attacker at Pathways International Restoration Ministries in Albion, St James, after the man, who hurled death threats, refused to comply with law enforcers’ orders to drop his weapon.

The cop, who was the fourth witness in the murder trial of Andre Ruddock at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston, said that the knife-wielding man was rushing from the church towards the police and using threatening language. Ruddock is being tried in relation to the October 17, 2021 killing of 39-year-old Taneka Gardner, whose throat was cut, allegedly by the accused, at the church in what has been described as a human sacrifice ritual. Ruddock was said to have been acting on the instructions of the pastor of the church, Kevin Smith. Smith died a few days later in a motor vehicle crash in St Catherine while being transported to Kingston to be charged in relation to the incident. On Thursday, another member of the constabulary testified that Smith had instructed members of the church to kill the police if they gained access to the compound.

Police enter Pathways International Restoration Ministries church building the day after an alleged human sacrifice ritual turned deadly.

On Friday, the second police witness told the court that he and members of his team were attacked by the male member of the church and because he feared for his life, he was forced to discharge multiple rounds into the upper body of the attacker. His colleague also fired at the man. The witness said that the members of the police team did not enter the church compound via the gate at the front, but had to skilfully scale a wall, topped with barbed wire, at the back of the premises to gain access. The policeman said that it was while the members of the team were going over the wall, one after the other, that the man with the knife rushed to them. “I was in the process of assisting members of the team to get past the barbed wires. He spoke to me, and I turned around and looked in the direction of the church. “I looked to the left of a boardwalk where I saw a man of dark complexion, slim build, about 5 feet 7 inches in height. He was dressed in a red shirt and a pair of white and grey trousers. I saw this man with what appeared to be a silver-looking knife in his right hand and this man seemed to be disturbed by the presence of the police on the church compound,” the cop shared.

He said that the man was looking in the direction of the police who were coming over the wall and was pointing the knife furiously at them. “It was as if he was trying to say something. He was agitated, moving from one side to the other. At the time when I saw this man, I did not see anyone else. I shouted out to the man, saying, ‘Police! Put down the knife!’ He did not put the knife down. The man then started to run towards me and shouted, ‘You must die!’ repeatedly,” the cop said. He told the court that when he first shouted to the man, he was about 33 metres away from the him. The policeman said he made numerous attempts to get the man to stop advancing towards him. “He did not obey the command. He continued to advance towards me with the knife and on reaching about three meters away, he put his right hand in the air with the knife in a stabbing position. I moved two steps backwards and then to the right. I then pointed my M16 rifle to the chest area of the man and I discharged three rounds because I was fearful for my life and the life of my colleagues who were beside me. I also heard loud explosions to my right. A constable was positioned to my right and the loud explosions sounded like gunshots. It came from the constable’s rifle. The man [the attacker] fell to the ground,” the witness testified. He further said that following the shooting, all seven members of his team had got over the wall, through the barbed wire, after which the knife was removed from the man’s palm.

“We tried to assist him to the hospital but the front gate was locked and the service vehicle could not enter the premises. I saw a few people on the verandah section of the church and they went inside of the church. I then contacted the police emergency communications centre and I informed the monitor at the Area One control centre about the incident. I also requested from the monitor additional personnel to come to the scene,” he said. The cop told the court that he then instructed two of his team members to cover the rear of the building and another set was sent to monitor the front. “I, along with one member, went to the top of the church building to also give coverage. I walked towards the front of the building where I could see the gate and the roadway. I could see persons on the inside of the church premises. I saw someone close to the front gate, kneeling behind a column, covered with a white sheet and it seemed as if this person was hiding,” he said. “Whilst on the top of the building I went to the right and I saw someone motionless lying face down and covered with white cloth. I also saw what appeared to be blood leaking from the neck area to the head. I saw more police arriving on the scene, as well as members of the Jamaica Defence Force. I shouted out to them and told them not to climb over the gate because I did not know if that person who was kneeling was armed,” he said, explaining that instructions were given to them on how to safely enter the compound.