Newly appointed Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro has wasted no time in setting about the task of reclaiming respect for the T&T Police Service (TTPS) and sending very early signals that he has embraced the job with energy and focus. T&T needed and expected no less of him.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Jason Gordon said to a media house during Corpus Christi observances weekend last that he feels the public is ready and willing to work alongside the new top cop. We share the intuition that the population, beset and besieged, prey to all manner of violent incursion, welcomes the new leadership. This is especially so following the unprecedented and morale-draining public spectacle of former commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher being arrested in her office in the heart of the Police Administration Building in January only to be cleared of all allegations months later.
At his inauguration at the St James Police Academy last week, CoP Guevarro referenced the debacle as the T&T Police Service (TTPS)’s “darkest hour”. It is to his mounting credit that he chose not to ignore the strange and dark backdrop to his elevation. He demonstrated grace and intelligence in recognising the role played by former acting commissioner Junior Benjamin who “held the reins” and led the TTPS ship through troubled waters following the shock arrest of Mrs Harewood-Christopher on allegations that could not pass muster at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Mr Guevarro spent the holiday weekend on the ground in Fyzabad for Labour Day celebrations, complimenting his officers for the work they did for the occasion, and continued his duties by visiting police stations to uplift the morale of his troops. Then yesterday, he took on another matter that damaged the reputation and perception of the TTPS in unprecedented ways: the arrest of firearms dealer Brent Thomas in Barbados in October 2022. Mr Thomas was arrested by officers from the Barbados Security Forces (BSF) and handed over to officers of the TTPS at Grantley Adams International Airport. He was transported back to T&T on a light aircraft later discovered to be from the Regional Security System (RSS), a Caricom arrangement.
To date there has been no disclosure on which State official authorised the extraterritorial police operation nor who requested the services of the RSS. Barbados Attorney General admitted that BSF officers had “fallen short of the law” in their role in Mr Thomas’ arrest and a High Court judge here described Mr Thomas’ arrest as an “abduction”, ordered compensation and a stay of all criminal charges against him. The State appealed but conceded that the TTPS acted illegally in arresting Mr Thomas in Barbados and returning him to T&T.
Mr Guevarro’s announcement yesterday that a probe had been launched into Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Suzette Martin, then head of the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) that led the investigation into Mr Thomas, has once again rocked the first division ranks of the organisation. Ms Martin, coincidentally, was also the lead investigator into the collapsed case against Mrs Harewood-Christopher.
We await the outcome of the investigation and take note of the bold and transparent approach being taken by the new CoP.
