Judge questions police station bail practices during SSP Wayne Cameron court appearance

A judge in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court today raised questions about the police’s station bail practices as she expressed concerns about the sum of the station bail granted to Chairman of the Police Officers’ Association (POA), Senior Superintendent Wayne Cameron, who is accused of stealing $15 million from the association.

Cameron was last month charged with five counts of fraudulent conversion and six counts of larceny as a servant and was granted station bail in the sum of $500,000.

During his first court appearance today, Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell expressed concern about the bail amount but declined to vary it.

“I am not happy with it, but I am not going to touch it,” the judge said.

However, she imposed additional conditions, ordering Cameron to surrender his travel documents and placing a stop order at all ports.

She also directed that he be fingerprinted.

Burrell questioned the apparent inconsistencies in how station bail is granted, noting that some accused persons appear before the court in custody while others are granted bail at the police station.

She queried how station bail is determined and whether there is an established policy, stating that the manner in which it is sometimes applied “occasionally smacks of injustice”.

With respect to Cameron, the judge remarked that his bail was far less than what she would have imposed.

He was ordered to return to court on May 28 for a plea and case management hearing.

Meanwhile, a prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the court that a mobile phone subscriber report and two police statements are outstanding and requested two months to complete the file.

The matter was set for case management in May, and Cameron’s bail was extended.

Investigators have indicated that the probe centres on the handling and use of funds under Cameron’s leadership, including the encashment of cheques.

It is alleged that the senior officer breached established procedures in relation to certain financial transactions connected to the association.

The charges arose amid an ongoing legal dispute between Cameron and Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake over a directive seeking his removal as POA chairman.

That move has been temporarily halted by the Supreme Court and is now the subject of an appeal.

Cameron is represented by attorneys-at-law Bert Samuels and Matthew Hyatt.

Attorney Tishanna Maxwell observed the proceedings on behalf of the Office of the Police Commissioner.

- Tanesha Mundle

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.