And while the Minister tried to put us in the spin cycle by making an issue of cop criminality become one about administrative toughness and transparency, we kept at it, asking if there is a dysfunction in the command of the department:
Jules Vasquez
"Some people will look at this and say 'the commissioner has to go.' When thigs like this happen, it is clear that the line staff have lost respect for their commanders or for the overall command. Yes, it could be the rogue act of an individual person, but there is, I believe a pattern of behaviour. Is it time for the political directorate to find a new commissioner of police? Is Chester Williams has his effectiveness as a leader worn off?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I think when you look at your commissioner of police, you have to look at results and I think that we have seen excellent results, excellent transparency for this commissioner of police and you can ask anyone out there, in terms of who they feel is not just the most accountable, but who is the most efficient, not just against the criminals and the bad guys out there, but even against his own and perhaps that may at times results in a reduction in morale, but at the same time what our society is asking for is a restoration of confidence and trust in our police department. So you will find situations where individual officers and in this case, a civilian employee acted on their own."
"If you ask that person, is it because of low morale that you went to discard that material? He'll say no. He would say in here was smelling bad, so I took it upon myself to take it to the garbage dump. That is not acceptable and so I do not subscribe to your suggestion that the commissioner has lost the confidence of the department."
Reporter
"What would you say to the public that this whole situation has come about and they are blaming the police?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"That's a very good question and a valid concern. We have to have trust and confidence that the people at the top will make the requisite decisions to ensure that we restore that confidence. That is extremely important. Police cannot carry out their functions, cannot carty out their duties if they do not have the support of the law-abiding public."
Jules Vasquez
"I hear what you are saying about rebuilding the confidence of the public, but when one looks at the cumulative load on the police department, the Laddie Gillet, the cop charge for extortion (this is just last week), 3 officers sent to jail for 10 years for killing a man in custody - this didn't happen under your tenure. That incident happened many years before, but the situation being what it is those 3 events of last week followed this week by the carelessness of a police staff. Are you concern that something has been irrevocably lost in the public's mind that they cannot trust the police to look after their wellbeing?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I think Jules and you describe it as a very heavy load on the police department at this time. I think that had we not gotten the officer arrested in the Laddie Gillett case, had we not gotten the officer convicted, in terms of an improper investigation and the judicial system allowed him to walk free, I think that is where the heavy load would come in. What you are seeing like I said is a transparency, is proper investigation, is holding officers accountable that you are not use to."
