Police Officer Challenges Ruling After Shooting Conviction and Sentence

Defense counsel Andrew Okola has launched an appeal on behalf of his client, Karim Warner, a police officer who received a year jail term for unlawfully firing a weapon in public.

Warner, 37, was found guilty on October 1st for events that unfolded at Willikies, close to the Emerald Cove Resort, in early December 2023.

According to testimony presented in court, the incident stemmed from a rental car disagreement. Warner had leased out a vehicle he owned, and when those driving it declined to return it, tensions escalated dramatically.

Evidence showed Warner used his Lexus to prevent the Toyota Mark X from leaving, then confronted the two occupants with aggressive language and demands that they exit the vehicle.

When the female passenger proposed settling the dispute at the police station, Warner dismissed the suggestion. Instead, he retrieved his gun and unleashed a barrage of bullets—striking the car’s rear panel, trunk area, and front tire.

The woman’s courtroom account described such terror that she lost control of her bladder during the shooting.

Warner disputed the prosecution’s account, insisting he hadn’t fired a dozen shots and maintained he was merely defending his property rights.

Senior Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel dismissed this justification during sentencing, noting that while perhaps four bullets could reasonably disable a vehicle, twelve rounds constituted a grossly disproportionate response.

The verdict visibly devastated Warner, who wept upon hearing he’d been convicted.

The matter now advances to appellate review following Okola’s filing.