The team from Jamaica that will support the local probe of the rape allegations against Police Commissioner Henry Greene is expected to arrive soon, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.
At a news conference, Luncheon said that the external officials will work along with ranks of the CID to ensure the conduct of an objective investigation, after which a report would be submitted to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice. Further, he said the entire process is expected to be completed by month end or early February.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), Luncheon made these disclosures while responding to a question.
Greene, whose only comment on the allegations is that God would be his judge, proceeded on leave to facilitate the investigations.
A 34-year-old mother of two alleged that she was sexually abused by Greene on the night of November 22, last year, after she had sought his assistance in solving a police matter.
The woman told reporters that after the incident Greene warned her against telling anyone or visiting a medical institution or doctor in connection with the matter. She said that he had been calling her for several days from a mobile number, which she provided as 699-0870.
She said that Greene wrote the number at the back of his card and told her that only government officials knew the number.
The woman added that several days after the incident, another senior police officer called her phone and requested that she meet with a senior government functionary at the Office of the President to discuss the issue but she declined. She said that the police officer told her that she should visit the government functionary alone “with no family or anybody.”
The allegations attracted calls by several groups for Greene to step down immediately so that a probe could be conducted. Greene later requested leave and this was granted by President Donald Ramotar, who appointed Assistant Commissioner Leroy Brummell to discharge the responsibilities of Commissioner pending the outcome of the investigation.
GINA further reported that Luncheon said that if the allegation against Greene had presented an appropriate time for him to resign, he would have done so and also, if the administration was of this view, then it too would have seized the opportunity to have him leave office.
“The investigations have to be carried out; you are innocent until proven guilty,” Luncheon stated.
‘Incompetent’
Meanwhile, the investigation into the police firing rubber bullets on APNU protestors is said to be ongoing but attorney and APNU member James Bond, who was hit in the episode, yesterday called officers involved in the investigation “incompetent.”
Several persons were injured on the morning of December 6, when police resorted to firing rubber bullets at protestors along Hadfield Street, saying that they failed to heed calls to disperse since no permission for was granted for a protest march. Several persons including elderly women and a child were injured, sparking outrage and condemnation by sections of society. Critics have said that there were other options available to the police. Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee later met with senior force officers to begin investigations into the circumstances of the shooting.
When contacted, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said there has been no development in the matter and that the investigation is continuing.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, Bond, however, stated that police officers assigned to the investigation are a “bunch of incompetent(s)” and compared the probe to that of the still incomplete Sheema Mangar case and more recently the Greene investigation.
Bond further suggested that the slow progress in the investigation is an indication that police are not held responsible for their actions. “The investigation moving so slow shows that the police have the right to shoot at unarmed protestors and even persons who were walking away from them,” he stated.
Bond, who is one of several persons charged over the incident, added that he will soon be taking legal action.
Rohee had criticised police over the “serious lapse” and urged the Commissioner to put steps in place for “other best practices in respect of crowd control, the necessary corrective administrative and command control measures to avoid a repetition of the unfortunate turn of events.” Rohee also flayed the police over the shooting of protesters in the back, saying it was inexplicable and unacceptable and another manifestation of bad judgement by the ranks on the ground that must never be repeated.
Several of the protesters, including Bond, had wounds to the back. Bond had related how he and former GDF Brigadier Edward Collins had turned their backs to the policemen to shield women in the protest.
