NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A Supreme Court judge has declined to set aside a Coroner’s Court verdict that deemed the 2021 police-involved killing of Azario Major, 31, a homicide.
Justice Franklyn Williams delivered the decision, which stemmed from the Coroner’s Court ruling in May 2023. Sergeant Antoine Sweeting, Sergeant Jamal Johnson, Inspector Raymond Saunders, and Corporal Deangelo Rolle were implicated in Major’s death. They filed a motion to challenge the Coroner’s Court decision. The Attorney General and Her Majesty’s Coroner were listed as respondents.
The officers sought various reliefs from the court, arguing, among other points, that their right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent tribunal established by law had been infringed and that the inquest decision was improper and unsafe due to pre-trial prejudice.
Justice Williams emphasized: “At the time of the convening of the inquest, the Applicants had not been charged with a criminal offense. A coroner’s inquest is not concerned with criminality, though the issue of criminality may be considered as a result of a finding thereof. The Applicants are not now charged. There is not now, nor has there been any indication that the Applicants are likely to be charged with a criminal offense.”
He further stated: “I take judicial notice of the fact that there has been and continues during the pendency of this action to be much publicity around the death of the subject of the inquest. This publicity consists of social media postings, commentary, interviews, and even a website and podcast with hundreds of thousands of views seemingly established solely for this purpose and has been facilitated by digital, print, and broadcast media. Several persons interviewed have repeatedly and explicitly called for the indictment of the Applicants and continue to do so. The resulting decision may very well have been influenced by that publicity; that, however, is not a matter for consideration here.”
Azario Major was killed outside Woody’s Bar on Fire Trail Road on December 26, 2021, after allegedly pulling a gun on Detective Sergeant 2825 Sweeting, Detective Sergeant 3039 Johnson, Detective Corporal 3726 Rolle, and Inspector R. Saunders. Major had reportedly been ejected from the establishment by the officers for disorderly behavior before the shooting, and he returned shortly afterward, driving a white Hyundai Elantra. The officers allegedly ordered him out of the vehicle and opened fire after he allegedly pointed a gun at them. Authorities recovered 45 bullet casings from the scene.
The jury at the coroner’s inquest classified Azario Major’s death as a homicide and returned a unanimous verdict of manslaughter.
A coroner’s jury does not determine guilt or civil liability.
