Busby was preferred TTPS legal head

George Busby
George Busby

SENIOR police attached to the Court and Process Branch say they would have preferred Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby to lead their prosecutorial team over the incumbent Christian Chandler.

Chandler is the director of legal for the Court and Process unit of the TT Police Service (TTPS).

Following yesterday’s Sunday Newsday article that highlighted the fact that Chandler never prosecuted a matter in his legal career, officers are raising questions about why Busby, who also applied for the job, was not selected. On Saturday, Busby confirmed he applied for the job but did not go into further details concerning why he was not appointed although he was selected. Officers attached to the Court and Process described Busby as the “Crème de la Crème.”

“If we had gotten Busby, well boy, things nice with we.” one senior prosecutor said.

Former state attorneys also question why Busby was not appointed. One attorney who boasted of having inside information in the DPP’s office said Busby accepted the post in December last year on the condition that he was approved for two years’ leave from the DPP’s office. Busby’s subsequent application for the time off was denied according to the attorney.

“The police is a major stakeholder in the DPP and if the police prosecution is better that will augur well for the DPP’s office but the DPP never signed off on the leave. From what I was told, the DPP office is short staffed.” Another attorney that worked under Busby, however, said DPP Roger Gaspard, himself, was a past beneficiary of extended leave. Gaspard had taken a leave of absence some years ago before he was promoted to DPP. The attorney said Busby, like Gaspard, could have left and returned with better experience and questioned why Busby’s leave was not granted when, at the time of Gaspard’s leave, the staff compliment at the DPP was the same as it is now. When Gaspard was granted leave under the then DPP Mark Mohammed, now a High Court Judge, there was one Deputy DPP and three Assistant DPPs.

Yet another attorney said, “I find it strange that Busby was not selected so I did some investigation and was told that Gaspard did not release him. But it’s not like Busby was going and do defence work he was staying in the same vein. Whatever was his decision he alone knows the rationale.”

Chandler in a Sunday Newsday article two weeks ago said his plan was to have police prosecutors enhance their skills through training and educating themselves on the latest authorities.

Former senior state attorney now defence lawyer, Brent Winter told Newsday last week that he believed police should not be prosecuting. “The paramount responsibility of the police is the detection and investigation of crime; not its prosecution,” said Winter.

He added: “The Commissioner’s riposte to the recent public statement by the Law Association in which he outlines the job of the police was to put criminals in jail, while the job of ‘others’ was to have criminals as their clients and try to get them out of jail is a lurid example of why the role of the police is incompatible with the function of a prosecutor.”

Chandler’s appointment was also marred with concerns of nepotism after he represented both CoP Gary Griffith and his wife Nicole Dyer-Griffith in separate cases and is currently on record for representing Griffith in an ongoing matter where a former radio talk-show host is suing him.

Defence attorney Wayne Sturge said he found it “interesting” that Chandler, with no prosecuting experience, was selected to lead the arm of the police responsible solely for prosecution.

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