Mixed verdicts marked the conclusion of a Supreme Court trial overshadowed by issues of race, Police procedure and the toxicity of chemical defence weapons.

David Anthony Brangman, 31, was acquitted yesterday on charges of importation and possession of a canister containing CS gas -- an anti-riot agent.

The decision could pave the way to legalising chemical defence sprays such as Chemical Shield and mace -- currently prohibited in Bermuda under the Firearms Act.

"Whether they are illegal is still a judicial question,'' said defence lawyer Mr. Michael Scott.

Last week, the US manufacturer of Chemical Shield, Mr. Ralph Helmrich claimed the spray was harmless.

But jurors deadlocked over two charges of assaulting P.c. James Walters and P.c. James Outerbridge with the spray on June 11 1992 with intent to do bodily harm.

They also reached an impasse over the charge of violently resisting arrest, but found Brangman guilty of offensive behaviour by ten votes to 2.

A retrial was ordered on the three charges by the Chief Justice the Hon.

Austin Ward.

After five hours, it was clear the jurors were still struggling to agree on a verdict on the assault charges.

They remained deadlocked even after the Chief Justice reconvened the court at their request, to advise on law governing assault of a Police officer.

"If you accept the defendant sprayed the officers with a chemical spray and if that act was done in circumstances you regarded as unlawful, then that would be an assault,'' Mr. Ward said.

"But the question was, were the Police officers doing their job and doing it in the right way? Only if it is done in the right way, is it done in the execution of their duty.'' In his closing remarks, the Chief Justice highlighted the sensitive issue of race -- an underlying theme in the trial of a black man pitted against two white Police officers.

"It was a difficult case in many respects and brought out the delicacy ...

in society when small things can escalate into a big thing because of racial overtones,'' he said.

In separate testimonies, P.c. Walters and P.c. James told the Court they were carrying out a routine name check on Brangman outside Lines Grocery on Ord Road in the early hours of June 11.

Brangman, who complied at first, quickly became verbally aggressive, shouting racist insults and poking Walters in the chest, they said.

As the officers attempted to arrest the defendant for offensive behaviour, Brangman sprayed them with a chemical spray, leaving both officers on the ground crying and choking.

But Brangman last week told a different story.

He claimed he was provoked by the officers who approached him rudely and made racist remarks.

Likening himself to Rodney King, he told the court he acted in self-defence after one officer beat his legs and ribs while the other held him with a "three- to four-foot-long'' flashlight.

Yesterday, Brangman appeared jubilant as the firearms charges, which carry a minimum of five years imprisonment, were dropped.

But he said he should have been acquitted of the remaining charges.

Mr. Scott called the trial a "precedent setting case'' and the verdict, "an unusual decision''. He attributed the mixed verdicts to jurors' difficulties in grappling with racial and Police issues.

"I am grateful to them for sticking to their oath and achieving justice as best they could,'' he said.

Crown Counsel, Mr. Khamisi Tokumbo refused to comment on the outcome of the six-day trial.

The Chief Justice will sentence Brangman for the offensive behaviour conviction today.