In early April we told you about an employee of Food and Beverage who was caught on camera stealing from the cash register. Based on the videotaped evidence he was promptly charged for theft, convicted and fined $500. But there's been no such swift justice for a former policeman who was caught in the act the Texaco Gas Station near the Bel-China Bridge.
On Monday May 29th is man seen here in a striped shirt and dark pair of pants who has not been charged was caught on a security camera slipping what appears to be a large bottle, possibly a bottle of wine, out of one of the coolers, then hiding behind a water stand in the aisle and stuffing it into his trousers. The gas station management caught it on tape, and when the same man returned to the store on Wednesday, a police patrol happened to pull up at the same time.
The gas station owners showed the tape to the police and asked them to cross reference it with the man who, at this time, was standing outside the gas station sipping a beer. Checking the tape and the physical ID, police concluded that not only was it the same man, it was one of their own, an off duty constable who been caught stealing!
He was taken into the station, and the gas station manager handed over a copy of the videotaped evidence to police. That was Wednesday May 31st, and today, 7 full days later, the man believed to be a police officer has been released and nothing has been done. In fact, police suggested to the gas station owner that it would be best not to press criminal charges and to instead let them charge him internally and dismiss him.
Well today, after 7NEWS got all over the story, police have been scrambling to get the story right and this evening, we got another version. First, Press Officer G. Michael Reid told us he knows nothing about the story and referred us to ASP Chester Williams, the head of CIB. After balking initially, Williams told us that a mistake had been made: they thought the young man as an officer; but, according to Williams, it now turns out that he was dismissed four months ago.
Now, Williams says, he will be criminally charged. Of course, that still doesn't explain the delay in bringing charges which begs the question: were he still a policeman, would criminal charges have been brought at all?
