Prisons Commissioner: Internal report on 2015 jailbreak missing

ON the third anniversary, yesterday, of the deadly Port of Spain prison break by inmates, Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson is admitting that the report of the internal investigation has gone “missing.”

In a telephone interview yesterday, Wilson said the report on the jail break, which was done by an assistant commissioner, cannot be found. The July 24, 2015 prison escapade left three people dead including PC Sherman Maynard who was on duty outside the prison and two of the three prisoners who committed the daring act – Hassan Atwell and Allan “Scanny” Martin. The third inmate, Christopher “Monster” Selby, was later recaptured.

Wilson was responding to concerns raised by president of the Prison Officers Association Cerron Richards that three years after the Frederick Street prison break there has been no investigation.

“To date citizens don’t know what transpired. We are still without answers as to who would have brought in the guns and grenades and who would have created the opportunity for these things to be used in a daring jail break that cost the lives of three people and sent the country into panic.”

Richards said although there was no investigation, prison officers were suspended and three years later are still on suspension.

“If there was an investigation by the Prison Service into the jailbreak, we would like the commissioner to come forward and say who did the investigation and what were their findings.”

Wilson said in response, “He (Richards) is not accurate to say there was no investigation. What happened is, there was an investigation but it cannot be found.” Wilson said two separate investigations were commissioned, “one internal done by the ACP and the other by the police looking at the security aspect of men coming out of the prison shooting and then there was also a homicide.

“The prison would have done an internal investigation which was done by the ACP. What is strange is that we cannot find the conclusion of that investigation. That is what the association is saying, that in the absence of an investigation that is not complete, persons were suspended.

“I don’t know what became of the report. This remains a mystery to me. We cannot start over the process. The internal investigation is ongoing at the service commission. It is not dormant.”

Wilson said he too has concerns about the breach in security on that day and how the guns and grenades entered the prison and ended up in the hands of the inmates.

He said he is also concerned that officers on suspension are on a reduced salary and it would be “nice to have some conclusion. I am concerned it is taking so long. This should have been expedited.”