‘I will never get weary doing good’

Dr Carl Bruce would not admit he was worried that Monday’s judgment in an assault case could have prevented him from keeping a promise to his deceased mother to “never get weary doing good”.

A guilty verdict would also have been damaging to the reputation he spent years building after fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor.

He believed he would also have let down his grandmother, another of the strong women in his life, who told him to “live good with people”.

When Parish Court Judge Alwayne Smith dismissed the two charges against him yesterday, it allowed Bruce to walk away with his reputation intact.

“My church, my grounding and my faith always remind me about weapons that will rise up against me,” Bruce said.

“But the judge saw through it, and I am sorry it wasted everyone’s time.

Bruce, a consultant neurosurgeon and medical chief of staff at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), was found not guilty of assaulting fellow neurosurgeon Dr Roger Hunter nearly two decades ago in an alleged encounter in one of the hospital’s operating theatres.

The hospital’s counsel, Kimani Bryson, said the UHWI was always certain of the outcome.

“It’s sufficient to just say that we have always had confidence in Dr Bruce’s innocence. We were anticipating and expecting his acquittal. And I personally am impressed by the judge. It was a very sensitive issue, but he handled it professionally and he made sure to focus on all relevant facts, which is, in essence, what he’s saying in his judgment,” Bryson told The Gleaner.

Bruce faced charges of assault occasioning bodily harm and malicious destruction of property arising from the incident alleged to have occurred on July 31, 2007.

The matter, reported to the police in November 2024, was first mentioned in court in April 2025, before the trial commenced.

Hunter was the Crown’s sole witness.

He testified that Bruce entered the room, ordered him to leave while using expletives, then moved towards him, shoved him, and grabbed his shirt and tie, causing damage.

He further alleged that Bruce struck him in the head and chest and punched him in the abdomen before repeatedly threatening to spit in his face and leaving the room.

He said he did not report the matter earlier because he had migrated and was pursuing a medical fellowship overseas.

CONTRADICTIONS

Bruce’s attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, KC, said there were contradictions between the statement given to the police and the viva voce evidence (evidence given by voice).

“Everything he said to the police revolved around the fact that he indicated that Bruce attacked him brutally for some 25 minutes.

“Also, the fact that the shirt and tie that he said were destroyed, yet, when turned over to the police, there was no such damage to the clothing.

“More important is that [the judge] found that Hunter bore significant animus towards Bruce,” he told The Gleaner.

Hunter referred at various times to Bruce as a “brute”, “criminal” and a “boy”.

“On one occasion, I suggested to Hunter that he was motivated by professional jealousy. And Hunter, also, although Carl does not have a firearm, went to the Firearm Licensing Authority to make a report about Carl using a firearm,” Tavares-Finson noted.

During the trial, Hunter admitted that he did not see Bruce with, or using a firearm.

Before dismissing the case, Smith said the circumstances outlined may be consistent with a genuine grievance and, standing alone, it would not lead him to reject his (Hunter’s) evidence.

“However, taken together with the matters that I will settle further, it leaves me in doubt whether I am hearing a reliable account or an embellished one,” the judge stated.

“What is clear is that, by reason of this unresolving consensus, the prosecution has failed to prove that the shirt and tie were damaged at all.

“As it relates to the offence of assault, I find implausible the account of a non-stop onslaught lasting 22 to 25 minutes in which a man, said to weigh over 200 pounds, struck the complainant more than once in the head, face, neck, chest and forearms.

“On that account, the complainant described no injury and sought no medical attention,” Smith said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com