2 more cops beat bribery charges

AND JADA LOUTOO

THE two remaining police officers accused of accepting a $30,000 bribe to halt the prosecution of a businessman have been cleared of the charges against them.

On November 25, High Court Master Sarah de Silva dismissed the misbehaviour charges against Keiran Morang and Nicholas Raghoobar, citing insufficient evidence.

Attorney Darren Mitchell represented the officers. Prosecutors Shervon Noreiga and Kern Young advocated for the State.

The ruling concludes legal proceedings against all officers implicated in the case.

The two were part of a larger group of seven before the court. On November 20, during a sufficiency hearing, de Silva discharged their colleagues Keenen Williams, Evans Mitchell, Latifah Lezama, Kevin Gomez, and Jabari McIntyre. She also ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.

Head of the Police Social Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) Gideon Dickson told Newsday, though, the matter is still under a microscope.

Describing the case against the officers as “fluid” and “sensitive,” Dickson said it is being looked at by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

“The DPP is looking at that matter in its entirety because it appears the wrong charges were laid against them.”

A statement from the police said seven officers went to the home of the couple at Five Rivers, Arouca, and executed a search warrant for firearms, ammunition and narcotics.

The officers allegedly found a quantity of marijuana, camouflage clothing, and a quantity of ammunition, leading to the homeowners being arrested and taken to the Arouca Police Station.

It is alleged that one of the officers approached the male occupant of the home and asked for $30,000 and five pounds of marijuana to forego charges against him and his wife.

The man was allowed to leave the station and instructions were allegedly given as to where the marijuana should be taken.

He was also told to return to the station with the cash.

When the Five Rivers man returned to the station, he handed over the cash and he and his wife were allowed to leave the station without being charged.

Immediately after the report was made to the PSB, a probe was launched by a team of investigators under the supervision of then-PSB head, now Deputy Commissioner Suzette Martin, and Supt Montrichard, Insp Narine,W/Insp Guy, Sgt. Pierre, Sgt Hosein and Cpl Joefield.

On November 7, 2023, the officers were arrested and later charged by Joefield of the PSB.

The seven appeared before a justice of the peace a week later and were granted $150,000 bail.

Officers seeking legal advice over extortion claims

On November 18, de Silva discharged seven other officers accused of extorting a group of Sangre Grande businessmen because the police failed to comply with court directives, including the timely preparation and prosecution of the case.

The PSB had also charged the seven officers in April 2023 with misbehaviour in public office by corruptly appropriating money – over $100,000 – seized as an exhibit during a police exercise.

The charges were laid after the PSB investigated a social media video which allegedly showed police officers seizing cash at a Sangre Grande businessplace, in the Eastern Division, a release from the police service said.

They faced an assortment of charges of corruptly appropriating several sums which were seized as an exhibit during a police exercise and conspiring to pervert the course of justice by knowingly making false statements to implicate a victim in a criminal investigation involving operating an illegal gaming house.

Dickson, though, is lamenting the labelling of this group of police officers as extortionists.

He told Newsday the officers were being unfairly labelled and called on the public and the media to remember that the officers were also human.

“In the execution of their duty they were charged for something. They submitted themselves to the charges, (the case) did not materialise and the matter was discontinued.

“We don’t know what will happen in the future but to be labelling them as extortionist by those who are doing it, inclusive of the media, it is wrong.

“It is unheralded and unfair to those officers who, in the execution of their duty, were charged for perverting the course of justice. That is something different (to extortion).”

Dickson added the officers were looking at their legal options arising from the issue.

“Because of the amount of public outcry by people who are none-the-wiser and far from the situation, they are placing the officers and their families in a very precarious position.

“For those seven officers to be labelled as extortionists, they are exercising their civil rights and speaking to their lawyers to get some sort of damages for what is taking place there.”

Dickson explained the process for the officers to be reinstated.

“As it is, those officers have nothing against them. So they need to submit their documents to the Commissioner of Police who will look at it and they are entitled to be reinstated.”

Dickson: Justice system needs an overhaul

The collapse of the cases prompted calls for urgent reform for systemic failures that allowed such cases to falter as a result of prosecutorial missteps and delays.

On November 22, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher disclosed disciplinary action had started against the three complainants in the case on November 18.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) also said it had initiated a probe into the collapse of the cases.

Dickson said the focus should be on fixing the justice system rather than ostracising the police.

“Several matters will have been discontinued for varying reasons and form varying offences by varying people. The level of scrutiny and public outcry did not occur. We have an issue with the criminal justice system that needs auditing if we want to change the trajectory of it.

“It needs to be audited, looked at acutely and strategically, and overhauled if we are looking for the results people expect. There is a disconnect between the people and a lot of the decisions across the board.”