Accused says he admitted to murder to avoid further torture

Rommel Akeem Cummins told a High Court on Wednesday that he only confessed to murdering Dave Archer after being beaten and tortured by police officers.

In an unsworn statement which he gave from the dock of the No. 3 Supreme Court, he said he admitted to killing Archer to avoid being beaten again.

Cummins, 30, of Vauxhall No. 2, Christ Church, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Archer on June 10, 2019. Archer, a former security guard on the MV DreamChaser, was gunned down while on the party vessel.

Cummins alleged that lead investigator Sergeant Michael Ifill and five other police officers who he did not know by name took him into a room and tortured him to give the confession, which he eventually did on June 13, 2019.

“Police ask me about the murder and I gave them the first statement which is true, that I did not have nothing to do with this murder. Later the night, I was taken into a room with about six police officers and Sergeant Ifill was one. He is the only one that I know his name.

“A plastic bag was placed over my head, my hands were handcuffed to a chair and I was beaten, kicked in my back and tortured. I was then told what to say when I get into the room and that if I did not say what I had been told I would be beaten again. I was tired and in pain because my back was hurting,” Cummins said from the dock.

The accused man alleged that during the interview, which commenced at 10:30 p.m. and finished at 11:50 p.m. he became sleepy.

He claimed that whenever he forgot what to say, Sergeant Ifill would show him a piece of paper to remind him.

“I did not give police any oral statements willingly,” Cummins added.

He said after the interview ended he was taken to his house where he gave police officers a T-shirt and pants he was wearing.

Cummins said he was also taken to the MV DreamChaser and to the wharf.

“Whatever they told me to sign, I signed because I was afraid of being beaten again. I did not tell anyone what happened to me even when I reached the prison, but a few days later I was still in pain and I asked to see a doctor and when he asked me how I got my injuries I told him I had been beaten by the police,” the accused concluded.

Senior State Counsel Neville Watson is appearing on behalf of the State while Angela Mitchell-Gittens is representing Cummins.

Both the prosecution and defence delivered closing arguments on Wednesday.

Justice Carlisle Greaves, who is presiding over the matter, is expected to deliver his summation on Thursday.