PHILIPSBURG–A 28-year-old man was found guilty of attacking two police officers who were performing a routine traffic control at Union Road in Cole Bay on December 27, 2017.
Garvin Clint Baptiste was driving a Honda CRF450R motorcycle when the police tried to stop him. However, he did not stop, but drove his dirt bike at high speed towards the two officers, who could barely avoid being hit. This constituted attempted manslaughter, the Court said Wednesday, in sentencing the defendant to four years.
While conducting the traffic control, officers saw a motorcycle approaching their checkpoint. One officer decided to stop the rider to control his bike for documentation. The rider, who was not wearing a helmet, was signalled to stop, but declined to do so and instead increased the speed of his motorcycle in an attempt to bypass the officers. A police car with blowing horns and flashing lights initiated a chase of the defendant.
As the road was blocked at one end, the defendant turned around and drove back. His statement that he had not been aware that he was chased was dismissed as being incredible. Therefore, the Court found it proven that the defendant had had the clear intention to avoid a traffic control “at all cost.”
One of the officers who attempted to stop the speeding motorcycle rider was not unable to get out of the way in time and was struck down. The officer tried to use pepper spray, but his left arm was hit. The rider lost his balance, hit another officer and fell, after which he attempted to flee the scene on foot.
The police gave chase and managed to tackle the suspect. Baptiste resisted heavily, but was quickly overpowered by a second patrol that arrived on the scene shortly afterward.
The injured officer was transported to St. Maarten Medical Center. The injuries to his face required several stitches, but he was released shortly afterward.
Based on the evidence presented in this case, which included camera images, the judge arrived at the conclusion that Baptiste had driven his motorbike at high speed in the direction of two police officers and had hit them both. They would have been hit frontally if they had not jumped out of the way, the Judge said.
Baptiste had told the Court that he was overtaking a jeep and that he was “surprised” by the stationary police car in the road. He told the police during questioning that he had only reduced speed at the moment he was “peppered.” This led the judge to the conclusion that Baptiste had been speeding when he drove toward the police officers, also because there were no visible brake marks on the road.
The Court said the officers could have been killed if they had not had the opportunity to jump to safety. “After all, the weight of a speeding motorbike that hits an unprotected person makes it an extremely dangerous weapon, which … could cause fatalities. The suspect must have been aware of this.”
In finding attempted manslaughter proven, the judge said Baptiste had tried to avoid his arrest at all cost, even if this meant endangering the lives of two police officers.
In sentencing, the judge took into account that a regular traffic control had escalated into a chase and the punishable act of attempted manslaughter.
Baptiste was sentenced in 2009 for thefts with violence, and in 2016 he was convicted of fencing and given a partially conditional sentence on three years’ probation.
As requested by the Prosecutor, the Court ordered the execution of the conditional sentence of 67 days and the confiscation of the motorcycle.
Baptiste’s lawyer Sjamira Roseburg had pleaded for her client’s full acquittal.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78951-biker-gets-four-years-for-attacking-police-officers
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