Second cop rejects claim Ruddock’s confession was coerced

A detective sergeant on Tuesday corroborated the testimony of a colleague given last week that murder accused Andre Ruddock was not forced in any way to admit to cutting the throat of 39-year-old Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in Albion, St James, on October 17, 2021. Ruddock is on trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston in relation to Gardner’s killing at the church. He was allegedly acting on the instructions of his now-deceased pastor, Kevin Smith.

Last week a detective corporal, who was a detective constable at the time of the incident, told the seven jurors, trial Judge Leighton Pusey, prosecutors and defence attorneys, that when Ruddock was taken from the crime scene to Montego Bay Police Station in Freeport, he confessed to the killing during a caution statement without being forced or threatened. Ruddock subsequently gave answers to 42 questions that were prompted by the confession he gave in the caution statement. The detective corporal told the court that in the interview room with him at the time was the detective sergeant, who is now on the witness stand, as well as two justices of the peace.

Both the caution statement and the question-and-answer session were taken down in writing and were also video recorded to be used as evidence in court. Although at no point in the video footage did it appear that Ruddock was forced to say anything, defence attorney Anthony Williams insisted during cross-examination of the detective corporal last week that intimidation and threats were levelled at his client by the cop before he arrived at the police station. He suggested that the detective ‘draped’ his client in his waist and slapped or “buffed” him in the chest while on the church compound.

He also suggested that because he had his gun on him, Ruddock felt intimidated and treated. However, the detective denied those suggestions. On Tuesday the detective sergeant, who was present during the recording of both the caution statement and the question-and-answer session, repeated in the court what his junior already shared from last week.

He said that Ruddock was in no way threatened to say that he killed Gardner by cutting her throat on instructions from Smith. He said there was also no threat towards Ruddock to get him to sign the statements after he gave them. “No ma’am,” the detective sergeant said in response to …