Griffith maintains defence of 'zesser' raid

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith on Monday again defended the actions of the police in raiding a "zesser" party in Caroni while allowing a wedding in Valsayn to go on unchallenged, saying the law only allowed the police to take actions against public events.

Early on Sunday morning, police raided the party in Kelly Village, Caroni, which led to the arrest of 250 people.

Over the weekend photos and videos from a wedding attended by a number of guests in excess of what is allowed by the public health regulations were circulated on social media, with some questioning why similar action was not taken against the wedding guests.

Speaking with Newsday, Griffith said by law any event which seeks to impose a cover charge for guests to be allowed entry qualifies as a public event, even if it takes place in someone's private residence.

He said unlike the party in Caroni, where an entry charge was in place, the wedding did not fit this description and therefore the police could not act.

"If you have private property and you open it to the public with a cover charge, you are charging people at the gate, you are advertising it and you are bringing in people who are not your personally invited guests – you have now turned your private property into a public place, which means the law is being broken."

Responding to criticism that the police were using a double standard in the treatment of one class of people compared to another, Griffith said again while the wedding may have been an equal contributor to the spread of covid19, its nature as a private event prevented the police from taking action.

"The police never said that 250 people in a 'zesser' party is going to be a threat (of) covid, but 250 people cramped up in a smaller place in a wedding is not going to be a threat to covid. "What we are saying is if there is a wedding and it's private, with guests invited to attend, there is nothing the police can do.

"I have to operate based on the laws that are provided. That is the only thing we can enforce."

A police media release on Monday reported that some of the 250 held from the party were released and would be charged by summons rather than being kept in cells overnight.

Griffith said this was a safer alternative for all parties involved as it would reduce crowding at police stations and the possible spread of the virus.

"It doesn't mean that they would not have to face the consequences of their actions.

"In a situation where you have 250 people, trying to put all of them in cells, it would have been a logistic nightmare. So you can get their names and information and then charge them by summons for them to answer in court."

Griffith was unable to say how many of the 250 people held had been released as of Monday.