Lovell Marriott has been conditionally discharged and levied a $100 fee in Summary Court, with a warning that she must keep the peace and stay out of trouble for one year, or risk having a conviction recorded against her.
The conditional discharge was returned on Tuesday, 6 Feb., at the end of Marriott’s half-day trial.
Marriott, who represented herself, faced two counts each of assaulting police and disorderly conduct and one count of resisting arrest.
The charges stem from two separate incidents in which Marriott used debris and foliage to block the road on 14 Feb. 2022.
The first incident occurred during the morning rush hour by the roundabout on Linford Pierson Highway not far the RCIPS Traffic Department on Agnes Way, when Marriott began throwing branches and rocks in the road, bringing traffic to a standstill.
“When I came on the scene, it took me about seven minutes in traffic to get up to the front where she was blocking the road,” said Police Sergeant Michael Montaque, while giving evidence.
“I called 911 and requested back-up, and then began clearing the road,” said Montaque. “But… as quickly as I cleared the road she placed the debris right back.”
The court heard that when Montaque tried to arrest Marriott by grabbing her hand, she wriggled free, took her belongings and “made a dash for it” towards the centre of George Town, where she would again block another road in protest a few hours later.
“Around 9:45am, we heard 911 dispatch officers in relation to Ms Marriott who was reported to be blocking the road, outside Royal Bank of Canada,” said Detective Inspector Anderson Taylor, who was stationed in a building a few yards away.
According to Taylor, he and Detective Constable Andre Savoury began clearing the debris from the small roundabout at the intersection of Elgin Avenue and Louise Llewellyn Way.
Attempts to restrain
While Taylor and Savoury cleared the road, PC Shamar Hayles and his partner, both of the RCIPS Firearms Response Unit, attempted to detain Marriott.
As the dramatic arrest began to unfold, Taylor said he stepped in to help when he realised both officers were struggling to subdue Marriott.
“I looked up and heard a loud commotion and saw two officers trying to restrain Ms Marriott, so I ran over and began to help,” said Taylor.
Although the three men were able to wrestle Marriott onto her hands and knees, it wasn’t enough.
“I noticed that there were three officers trying to get handcuffs on Ms Marriott; one was holding her right hand, another had her left, and the other officer was standing over Ms Marriott who was face down,” said Savoury.
He added, “I ran over and helped to restrain her as the handcuffs were placed, and that’s how we were able to arrest her.”
Marriott, who is said to have asked officers why she was being arrested, gave the court a different version of events.
‘I was kicked from behind’
“All I remember is walking away, and then hearing ‘brudum boom boom’ and feeling as someone kicked my feet out from under me,” said Marriott on the witness stand.
She told Magistrate Philippa McFarlane that at no point did she resist the officers’ attempts to arrest her, and that she did not swing at the officers with any objects.
“I was so badly injured during the incident that I can’t wear high heel shoes without feeling a strong pain,” said Marriott.
During her trial, Marriott did not contest the police officers’ evidence that she blocked the roads, which gave rise to the charges of disorderly conduct.
McFarlane convicted Marriott on the charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, for which she received the conditional discharge, and a $100 fee. The charge of assaulting police was dismissed.
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