Erla being questioned leaves Kamla amazed

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar marvelled that Commissioner of Police (CoP) Erla Harewood-Christopher had been detained for several hours for questioning by police at the height of the state of emergency (SoE), which was supposed to have been implemented to tackle violent criminals.

She expressed amazement in a statement sent via WhatsApp on January 30, moments after news broke that Harewood-Christopher was detained in her office with two officers standing guard outside the door. She was questioned on the importation of two prohibited sniper rifles for the Strategic Services Agency (SSA).

"Had a whole SoE to lock up criminals and lock up the CoP instead," Persad-Bissessar scoffed in one of her WhatsApp messages to Newsday. "Only the PNM could do that."

Newsday earlier reported that officers from the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Intelligence and Investigations reportedly met Harewood-Christopher at her office at Police Administration Building, Port of Spain, for questioning over the SSA's importation of the two rifles.

Hours earlier, on Wednesday night, former head of the SSA, Major Roger Best was arrested at his Arima home by police.

These developments followed revelations last year by the Prime Minister that the SSA was intent on overthrowing his government.

On Thursday, Persad-Bissessar said recent developments were no surprise to herself or anyone who would have listened to her address at a UNC public meeting on January 6.

"Citizens should ask if the real reason for the SoE was to implement a gun amnesty to save other government officials who are also under investigation, which backfired because their dunce AG did not know that he would have had to come to Parliament for a special majority to implement it," she said in her address at the UNC meeting.

"The Government has collapsed. They must call an election. We will meet them on the 'anenue',” she said in a WhatsApp message, in reference to an embarrassing spelling error on a Welcome to Morvant post erected by Government for which a formal opening ceremony was held earlier this week.

In her January 6 UNC meeting, Persad-Bissessar asked if Government's inclusion of Regulation 11 in the SoE regulations was done in order to protect certain public officials. This regulation pertained to provisions of a gun amnesty, where anyone surrendering a firearm to the authorities, would not face prosecution.

"Why did you put it there? Is there any senior government official under investigation for possessing a prohibited weapon? It might be a young person or an old person. I really don't know...I'm asking.

"Is this Regulation 11 to ease them up and say 'good boy. Bring it home and drop it on the desk?' Who from the police service approved a permit to purchase this rifle? Who? Who is the dealer who imported this firearm and sold it to a senior officer," she asked.

On January 18, a statement from the Attorney General's Office rescinded Regulation 11 of the 2024 SoE's Emergency Powers Regulations.