Superintendent denies instructing junior rank to change statement

Superintendent of Police Gary McAllister has denied instructing a junior rank to change his statement in the matter of Police vs Maryann Daby, the businesswoman accused of attempting to kill a Police rank.

Superintendent McAllister told the court that he instructed Police Constable John Holder to ensure that his statement was in sync with Police Constable Christopher Kissoon’s, the Policeman Daby is accused of attempting to kill.
Constable Holder was charged in November 2018 with attempting to pervert the course of justice at some time by deviating from his statement dated May 13, 2018 in relation to the charges against Daby.
On Wednesday last, Superintendent McAllister testified before Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus. In the past he had also given inconsistent evidence against Daby, resulting in the magistrate declining to tender the firearm the woman allegedly used in her attempt to kill Kissoon.
McAllister told the court that he is attached to the Brickdam Police Station and, during 2018, some of his duties included the perusal of case files and the provision of directions where needed.
According to him, he observed a number of discrepancies in the statements of Constable Holder and Constable Kissoon. For instance, he said, Kissoon in his statement said Daby pointed a gun at him, while Holder said he did not see Daby pointing a gun at Kissoon.
McAllister said that after realising that both Holder and Kissoon were together that night, he summoned Holder to his office and highlighted the inconsistencies between the two statements.
According to McAllister, he advised the constables that their statements should corroborate, since they were together on the night of the incident.
He added that at no time did he tell Constable Holder to change his statement. Rather, he said, he expected Constables Holder and Kissoon to sit together and make sure that their statements were consistent.
After McAllister finished his testimony, he was subjected to cross-examination by Constable Holder’s lawyer. Police Inspectors Suraj Singh and Prem Narine also testified.
The Magistrate, after listening to evidence of the witnesses, adjourned the matter until July 9, 2019 for continuation.
A few months ago, while giving evidence against Daby, Constable Holder testified that he had lied in his statement.
According to information, Holder gave several statements during the investigation in relation to the matter. Sometime later, he deviated from his statement and told the court that a top ranking officer instructed him to change his statement to support that of his colleague.
25-year-old Maryann Daby, of 127 D’Aguiar Park, Houston, Georgetown, was not required to plead to a charge which alleges that on May 13, 2018 at Albert Street, Thomas Lands, Georgetown, with intent to commit murder, she attempted to discharge a firearm at Police Constable Christopher Kissoon.
It was also alleged that on May 13, 2018 at the same location, she had a .32 pistol in her possession when she was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time.
It was further alleged that on the same day she had six live rounds of .32 ammunition in her possession when she was not the holder of a firearm licence enforced at the time. She denied the latter two charges after they were read to her.
According to reports, on the day in question Daby and her friends were at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club. Constable Kissoon, who was off-duty and at the Club at the time, reportedly heard what appeared to be gunshots going off.
While checking for the source of the gunfire, he reportedly saw Daby firing rounds into the air and, as a result, he confronted her.
Daby allegedly became annoyed and pointed the firearm to his head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, there were no more rounds in the gun.