Ex-chief of defence staff to Griffith: Fix attitude or resign

Former chief of defence staff Major Gen Ralph Brown condemned Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith for his approach and responses to matters involving the Prime Minister.

He called on Griffith to take some time to “rethink his position on this and other issues which have not gone unnoticed,” or resign immediately.

Brown, in a letter to the editor of the newspaper on Monday, said, “I am certain that Commissioner Griffith was not taught to be disrespectful of authority at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy that he so often reminds us he attended.

"My concern here is not for the legalities of the issue at hand, (I leave that for the lawyers) but for the total disrespect shown for the Office of the Prime Minister.”

He said the conduct was unacceptable and not expected from a military officer and the Commissioner of Police.

Brown said Griffith should show more respect to Dr Rowley who also heads the National Security Council.

"If Commissioner Griffith felt so strongly about the issue, he should have sought an audience with the Prime Minister through his line minister, the Minister of National Security…Were he still a member of the Defence Force, this conduct would have been considered prejudicial to good order and military discipline.”

Brown’s letter came after Griffith took to social media on Sunday and Monday to publicly respond to matters involving the PM.

On Saturday, Rowley called out the police for not equally enforcing covid19 restrictions through the Public Health Ordinance, after residents of Bayside Towers, Cocorite, got off with a warning from police when neighbours reported a possible breach of the regulations.

The regulations prohibit gatherings of over five people in public places.

On Sunday, Griffith hit back at the PM saying police have no jurisdiction to enter any private property without a warrant and arrest any citizen, even if they are in breach of the Public Health Ordinance regulations. He asked the government to give police that power.

On Monday, the Office of the Prime Minister, in a Facebook post, said the commissioner was summoned to a meeting along with the National Security Minister Stuart Young and Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Faris Al-Rawi.

Griffith attended the meeting with acting deputy commissioners of police Jayson Forde and McDonald Jacob.

Hours after the meeting, Griffith again lashed out, but this time at the Office of the Prime Minister communications department for its use of the word “summoned” in its Facebook post about the meeting.

According to Griffith, he was invited, not summoned. He scolded the OPM communications unit for “not understanding the difference between 'invited' and 'summoned.'”