CoP to send Hackshaw file to DPP

TWELVE DAYS after the police announced there was no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing against a senior police officer who deposited substantial sums of money into 15 bank accounts over six years, the report is being sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for review.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said on Tuesday the decision was in keeping with his mandate to ensure transparency in the police service and to ensure to the public that there was no cover-up in the police investigation into the allegations against Assistant Commissioner of Police Irwin Hackshaw.

The decision comes on the heels of a report published in the Sunday Newsday that the Police Complaints Authority had found new information in a parallel probe against Hackshaw.

Speaking at a press conference, Griffith said on Tuesday that the review of the police probe was also being done to the benefit of Hackshaw, as some people "want to play prosecutor and even jury to state that what happened is contrary to what was investigated."

In an interview on Saturday, Griffith said not every matter involving police officers had to be sent to the DPP for review, as he did not want to overburden the DPP's office, which should be limited to technical matters.

He said the probe into the Hackshaw matter was "a straightforward investigation."