Joseph Budna was abducted 83 days ago - and we now know that in those 12 weeks - police investigations have produced nothing.
No one has been arrested - even though two police officers can be identified on the surveillance video, no vehicle has been identified or even named, and no one has been held to account.
It has been, in totality, a nothing show - and the DPP had the courage to call it out yesterday. Jules Vasquez looks at how we got here:
Bart Jones, Acting Commissioner of Police
"But the assistant superintendent, Assistant Commissioner Anderson is a seasoned police officer, a seasoned investigator, and even from the media, you would have said that she has an impeccable reputation. And so, there's no need for us to to, to be, watching every step of her in terms of the investigation, but certainly, the office of the Commissioner of Police Instructional Investigations, from time to time."
A seasoned police, but, apparently, a lousy investigator - or maybe one who just didn't want to find anything:
Cheryl Lynn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions
"and I apologize as a director for saying this, but I was always expecting that there would have been nothing in the file."
"What I was not expecting was that there would be less than nothing in the file, which is really my characterization of what has been put before me."
But to be clear, I said the file would be thin. You said it is not. But yet you characterize the file that's having less than nothing.
"Yes, there can be words. The words can be of no effect. They can be words that really don't say anything."
It's a withering conclusion and a severe public pronouncement but somehow all that nothing somehow sailed right past the Police Minister who is an attorney:
Kareem Musa, Min. - Home Affairs
From what you have heard, what is in that report?
The report had, I believe, ten witnesses that have been interviewed. It had references made to the identification by your good self and Budna, it had references made to two surveillance footages. So we do know that they do exist.
And while Musa treated the nothing as if it was something - the Prime Minister who's the only one who had possession of the file seemed ok with nothing - and just passing it down to the DPP:
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Quite likely, and I will make their recommendation tomorrow to Cabinet, I think is better then, time to just pass it on to the DPP and let them deal with it."
So no independent investigation?
Did you hear what I just said?
I did.
Thank you.
But the DPP directs the police to go back and investigate further, if needed.
So, then what do we need to do? What do you want us to do? Bring the FBI? I mean…what will you do?
That casual dismissal is now left with the only person who has any interest in seeing justice done in a public kidnapping by police officers.
I know you can't speak prematurely, but will there be arrests?
Cheryl Lynn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions
"Based on what was sent to me - at this very moment, there cannot possibly be an arrest of anyone because very few people saw anything and what they saw they're not too sure about what it was that they saw."
"So at the moment, no, they can definitely not be an arrest of anyone at all."
"But we are looking at the file as a team, and we are deciding where we're going to go from here."
We note that - up to now at least - the police have made no attempt to speak to the victim of the kidnapping, Joseph Budna.
