And while ComPol was on the Sunup couch this morning, after that he took a trip to Cristo Rey to meet with the family. That's what the Police Minister told us this afternoon via Zoom. He sent his condolences and then elaborated on how exactly the police department will ensure a thorough and credible investigation. According to him, the family will be able to appoint somebody to oversee the investigation to ensure that it's by the book and there are no cover ups. Here's how he put it:
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I want to offer my personal condolences to the family. I have asked the Commissioner of Police to visit with the family today to not just extend our condolences but to give them the reassurances that we will ensure that this is a thorough comprehensive and fully transparent investigation into this, what I have to categorize as a wrongful death instance, and I'm sure that you in the media can appreciate that the commissioner of police and the police department have been very upfront and forthright from the very onset of this incident, there has been no cover up and there will be no cover up and we will ensure that justice is delivered to the family of young Derrick Uh. In terms of an update so far what I can say is that 12 statements have been recording and from the initial statements that the police have gathered so far, the police has actually determined that six officers, not necessarily all of them we can categorically state are guilty of any offense but there are six officers that are being questioned at the moment and certainly we can expect not just charges in the criminal tribunal at the police level but also criminal charges in our court system. We have also extended the opportunity to the family of Derrick Uh for them to appoint a person of their choice to oversee the investigation as well and to liaise with the chief investigators who are, in this instance, Senior Superintendent Romero, and Assistant Superintendent Gonzalez, those are the two senior police officers from major crimes unit who are heading this investigation and we are allowing the family the opportunity to appoint, whether it's an attorney, justice of the peace, or someone who they think is fit to oversee this investigation and like I said, to liaise with the senior investigators as this investigation moves forward."
And while the ComPol had said yesterday that he didn't have an issue with the officers using the prisoner van as a detention cell, Minister Musa disagreed, saying that was the first step in the series of protocol breakdowns that led to Uh's death.
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"If you look at the very first point, which is that, in my opinion, and I'm not aware of any policy, that individuals are supposed to be detained in a van, I think that is the starting point that this individual, Derrick Uh, ought not to have been detained, even temporarily, inside the van. What should have happened, in my opinion, is that a mobile should have been called even though it is a distance away from the Corozal police station, a mobile should have been called to come and pick up Derrick Uh, and he should have been taken to the police station if there were allegations made against him. And so from the very outset that in my opinion was a huge misstep on the part of the police at the San Joaquin Fiesta Showgrounds. Secondly what the investigation is showing so far is that there was not a proper briefing and there was not a proper handing over because the officers who took the van to the police station were not the original officers who had detained Derrick Uh and so in the process of handing over the detainee, there should have been a proper briefing and communication by the officers who had originally detained Derrick Uh and that should have been communicated to the drivers who then took the van to the police station with Mr Derrick Uh inside the van. So yes, in my opinion, definitely, there were like a series of missteps starting with the very fact that Mr Uh ought not have been detained inside the van."
