Police corporal Donovan Gardiner was sentenced to 10 years in jail for beating a man in police custody who later died. In a written ruling, Gardiner was convicted of the manslaughter of Desmond Key.
Gardiner, a 39-year-old married father of two, faced up to life behind bars for the Father’s Day 2007 beating that eventually resulted in Mr Key’s death seven months later.
The judge’s ruling said: “In particular, I have noted that Gardiner has not expressed any remorse. I have also noted that the evidence suggests that the victim may have been under the influence of alcohol and he was in custody of the police at the time of the incident. It is reasonable to conclude that if the victim was intoxicated then his powers of reasoning may have been impaired.”
Gardiner stood trial in the Supreme Court for the January 19, 2008, death of Desmond Key, who died of pancreatitis at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Key had been in hospital for seven months after being beaten with a baseball bat in a holding cell at the Grove Police Station on June 17, 2007.
Gardiner stood accused of hitting the detainee in the head and side with the wooden bat. On March 2, after two weeks of trial, a nine member jury found him guilty of manslaughter.
Gardiner’s jail stretch will run from the date of conviction.
