And while the police department is investigating the BDF shooting, the Commissioner says he has also tasked his officers to open an investigation into John Saldivar.
As we have reported, Saldivar is heard on a secret audio recording saying he took Lev Dermen and Jacob Kingston - both of whom have been convicted on fraud charges in the US - on a fishing trip on a Coast Guard vessel.
Last week, the Commissioner of Police hinted that this may be enough to bring criminal charges against Saldivar, similar to the ones that Rene Montero is facing for "willful oppression."
That section of the law says, "A public officer…is guilty of wilful oppression...if he wilfully commits any excess or abuse of his authority to the injury of the public or of any person."
Saldivar brushed that off at his press conference last week - but, today, Compol Chester was not impressed by his bluster. Here's both sides of that:
John Saldivar
"I don't see how in the world he can try to turn that into a criminal case. There is absolutely no way that he can turn that into a criminal case, because I was the minister responsible and I had the authority to do what I did."
Jules Vasquez
"But he says that you cannot charge him, that you can't even contemplate an investigation for misuse of any public property, because he was the minister and he gave the authority."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Well, I am beyond contemplating already, because the investigation has commenced and I watch the press conference on how you interviewed him and I said to myself we need to make Jules Vasquez an honorary attorney, because you did a good job in terms of getting the man to admit and yes he made mention that it might have been, at this time, a hindsight, an administrative oversight. But it is the same with Mr. Montero. He was the minister and he gave the permission for the equipment to be use and despite that he was still charged. Like I said before I'm not going to be the arbitrar of that. We are just going to do the investigation and we submit the file to the DPP and if she believes there is sufficient then she gives the directive, she believes there is not sufficient then the same."
We'll keep following the case to see if the DPP advises to bring charges.
