Gary: I am above board

POLICE COMMISSIONER Gary Griffith says he is above reproach and any insinuation that he is not is just mischief being made by those with “cocoa in the sun” wanting to tarnish his name.

Griffith made the statement in response to questions posed to him by Sunday Newsday about his past relationship with a security firm incorporated in 2009. The company’s name, Captain Gary Griffith and Associates (SAS) Ltd, was changed to CGGAL Security Analyst Services Ltd in 2013.

Asked about the possible perception of bias, given that the company would have to apply to the Police Commissioner for a firearm user’s licence, Griffith said his ethics were of the utmost and he was no longer affiliated with the company.

He added to ensure that there was no bias, if the company applied for a firearms licence, it would be “the last” to get one.

“If I coach my son football team, he is the last person on the team.

“I go out of my way to ensure that my ethics will not be judged. If there is any security company, they may very well be the last one to get anything, if I had owned a security company,” Griffith said.

He added that the company was his father’s and he himself currently has no shares or directorship or ownership in any security firm.

Records at the Ministry of Legal Affairs show the company was registered on November 5, 2009. The directors at the time were Gary Griffith and his wife, Nicole Dyer-Griffith, of Saddle Grove, Santa Cruz.

In June 2010, Suzanne Dyer of Jasper Avenue, Diego Martin, was added to the list of directors, as well as Gary T Griffith of Van Buren Avenue, Diego Martin. Gary Griffith was removed as a director. At that time, Gary Griffith and Nicole Dyer-Griffith held one share each in the company.

In June 2011, Dyer-Griffith was replaced as secretary by Suzanne Dyer and that year Dyer-Griffith also ceased to be a director.

In November 2011, Gary Griffith, of an address in Moka, Maraval, and Suzanne Dyer remained shareholders. The following year, Gary Griffith was still listed as a shareholder and Gary T Griffith was also listed as a director along with Suzanne Dyer.

In July 2013, Gary T Griffith was removed as a director. By September, Suzanne Dyer, Gerard Doolam and Joy Dyer were the directors. As at November 5, 2013, Gary Griffith was still listed as a shareholder along with Suzanne Dyer.

The company requested the name change from Captain Gary Griffith and Associates Security Analyst Services (SAS) Ltd to CGGAL Security Analyst Services Ltd on October 21, 2013 and it was granted the following day, according to the date stamp on the documents. The new company was incorporated in November 2014.

As at November 5, 2014, the shareholders were listed as Gary Griffith (Moka) and Suzanne Dyer of Saddle Grove, Santa Cruz – an address that Gary Griffith and Nicole Dyer-Griffith once used in the legal affairs forms. The three directors remained Suzanne and Joy Dyer, along with Gerard Doolam of Chow Quan Avenue, Diego Martin.

Shareholders as at November 5, 2017 were Dyer-Griffith (Moka) and Suzanne Dyer (Santa Cruz). Gary Griffith (Moka), listed with the occupation of consultant, had no shares. According to the date stamp on the documents, on November 10, 2017, one share was transferred from Gary Griffith to Dyer-Griffith. The directors remained Suzanne and Joy Dyer and Gerard Doolam.

On CGGAL Security Analyst Services Ltd’s website, two videos show Gary Griffith speaking about the benefits of hiring private security.

In the videos, he adds that private security companies work in tandem with national security agencies. The videos identify him as a former national security minister.

Under the heading of Leadership, he alone is listed, and a 12-page document shows his achievements as a member of the TT Regiment for 14 years, national security adviser and national security minister. Under the heading Meet Our People, Gary Griffith is listed as a security consultant executive, Suzanne Dyer as CEO, Gerard Doolam, the operations manager, Bindra Dukhie, the general manager and Joy Dyer is listed under finance division. When asked if he had disclosed his affiliation to the security company during his interview with the Police Service Commission (PSC), and what if anything was their response, Griffith said: “It is very rude to allude that I did not disclose this to the Police Service Commission. You are basically questioning my ethics.

“In my CV, it will have every single thing that the PSC will see and they would have done a comprehensive background check and Special Branch would have verified what I put to the Police Service Commission.

“To have the audacity to ask if I disclosed it, as if I was trying to hide something from the service commission, you are totally out of place.”

He added that it would have been foolhardy to not disclose his past relationship with the company to the PSC.

He asked to be quoted as saying that there are more important things to discuss than his salary or where he will live as Commissioner of Police, but focus on how he will secure the nation.

This week, it emerged that he had negotiated a $40,000 salary package with the National Security Ministry, as Griffith’s contract was finalised after Government approved his nomination as CoP on July 30. On August 3, the PSC gave Griffith his letter of appointment as the top cop.