Care worker saw no risk on fateful fishing trip

(CNS): Micheal Stewart (65), a former care worker charged with manslaughter, told a jury he was devastated by the death of Risco Batten, a teenage boy who drowned on a fishing trip while being supervised by him and Larry Levers, a colleague from the Bonaventure Boys Home. As he gave his evidence, Stewart said he had no reason to believe there was any risk to the boys that day until the sea suddenly became a little rough and he called the boys out of the water.

As he gave his own perspective of the fateful events of that day in November 2015, Stewart’s evidence tallied with several of the crown’s witnesses, including the former manager of the home, Sidney Ebanks. Stewart supported the evidence already before the court that there were no procedures to follow or policies in place to guide activities with the boys.

However, a key claim in the crown’s case is that Stewart and Levers are liable for Batten’s death partly because they failed to carry out their duty in line with procedures.

Stewart said that while that Sunday’s fishing activity had been listed on the board for West Bay, at a place near the Cayman Turtle Centre near the home, before the two supervisors and the five teenage boys left they had collectively made a decision to go to George Town. Stewart said there was nothing unusual about that since fishing was often scheduled for the boys without specifying a location. But the decision to go to town was conveyed by Levers to one of the managers.

He said they then moved on to South Sound because the sea was a little rough in the harbour and the fish were not biting. Stewart said he didn’t often take the boys on outside activities or work with Levers, explaining that while the pair were long time colleagues, they worked different shifts. He said Levers was familiar with the South Sound location and had taken boys there on previous occasions, and he had no reason to doubt that the location was safe because he trusted Levers’ judgment.

He told the court that his colleague was a “thoroughly caring and competent” supervisor who often took the boys on water-related activities. Stewart explained that he did this much less often because he could not swim. He said the management at the home was not only well aware that he could not swim but also that he had back trouble.

Stewart said that the sea was calm and Levers assured him the location was safe. He explained that this was not just in regards to the boys fishing or the state of the sea, but there were security considerations and other potential issues or distractions that, as supervisors, they thought about when taking the boys away from the home.

His main concern that day, however, was that the boys stayed apart when fishing so they would not tangle lines or hurt themselves with the hooks. He said that when the group arrived, the boys waded into the water around knee-to-thigh depth to cast their lines, and spread out in a line parallel to the shore.

He told the court that he did not consider that there was a risk of drowning for any of the boys because the conditions “were benign”. However, after some time the waves very suddenly began to swell and surge, he said. As that happened, he and Levers called the boys to shore, but as they started to come in the waves suddenly grew, and they spotted Batten in trouble.

Stewart explained that he called 911 right away as a precaution, but even at that point he did not think the boy was in real danger of drowning. He told the court that he was unaware of any undercurrents at that location and denied neglecting to care for the boys or ignoring any potential risk.

As he spoke about the year following the incident, he said that he was asked to go to the police station twelve months later with a lawyer and was arrested when he got there, which was as if he had been “hit by a bomb”. But he had no time to recover his composure before the officers began questioning him. By that time, he said, the devastating impact of Batten’s death had taken a serious toll on his health and he was unable to sleep.

During cross-examination Stewart continued to deny that he had been careless in his supervision of the boys, even though the crown prosecutor pressed him over and over again to say that it was careless to allow the boys into the water because there was a risk of drowning.

Stewart said he was unaware of any indications that the area was known for strong undercurrents. He said that the boys had been taken there to fish before with other supervisors, and explained that there were no formal assessments or preferred locations that were listed as places earmarked for fishing or not for fishing.

Stewart was clear when he told the jury that the usual and accepted practice was for supervisors to observe an area, consider the conditions and then make a decision. He said there were no rules or policies that prevented the boys from wading into the water, although he would not give formal permission for boys to go into the water at such an activity when he was team leader because he couldn’t swim. But on this occasion, he said, Levers was comfortable that the boys were safe wading in and all the boys were able swim.

Stewart said he had checked that Batten could swim because he had been lagging behind the other boys. He said he spoke with him to find out if something was wrong because he was new to the home, having arrived only a few days before. He also asked if he was able to swim, and Batten told him he could.

The case continues.