Superintendent Dion Moore has replaced Senior Superintendent Ian Amsterdam as Traffic Chief, a move, which some members of the force see as a demotion for Amsterdam and a response to him standing up for himself.
According to reports, Amsterdam had stood up to Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud who had allegedly called him derogatory names during a high level police meeting in the latter half of July.
Amsterdam’s move back to ‘A’ Division took effect this week after he returned from vacation and is not going down well with some members of the force who are adamant that the senior officer is a victim of discrimination because he stood up for his rights.
Contacted yesterday Police Public Relations officer Ivelaw Whitaker confirmed that Moore is now the Traffic Chief and Amsterdam is now the second in command of `A’ Division. Noting that he was present at high level police meetings, Whittaker said he was unaware of any exchange between Amsterdam and the Commissioner.
Neither Amsterdam nor the Commissioner could be contacted yesterday. However, current and past members of the lamented that verbal abuse of senior ranks is a regular occurrence and they have applauded Amsterdam for his courage.
Amsterdam, following the retirement of Assistant Commissioner George Vyphuis in the early part of last year, was elevated to act as commander. Prior to Vyphuis’s retirement he was second in charge.
In April 2014, he was posted to `D’ Division to perform the duties of commander. A short while later he was removed from that post and put to head the force’s traffic department.
“You move a man though all those ranks only to demote him down to second in charge of a division. Is he a yo yo?,” a source asked, voicing his disagreement with the decision made. The source said too that wherever Amsterdam was placed he has demonstrated the capacity to perform well and was certain that the transfer will not affect his work ethic.
Sources told this newspaper that during one of the force’s regular meetings held towards the end of July, there was an exchange of words after the Commissioner made derogatory comments to Amsterdam. One source said that when it was time for Amsterdam to speak he made it clear that the comments were uncalled for and that the commissioner ought to have acted in a more professional matter. An argument ensued.
Subsequently, the source said, during a telephone conversation, Amsterdam was threatened with a removal from the office he held. Amsterdam the proceeded on annual leave on August 4 and on his return on Monday he was informed that he would be transferred to `A’ Division effective Wednesday.
However a police source said that Moore is a better pick for the Traffic Chief job as he has been linked to this department for most of his policing career. While he had served as second in command at ‘A’ Division for some time last year, he was the acting traffic chief while Amsterdam was on leave.
“Amsterdam is a more seasoned commander and would fit comfortably into divisional operations while Moore is all about traffic,” the source said, adding that if the force’s administration saw it fit to return Amsterdam to a division as opposed to keeping him as Traffic Chief it ought not be a problem as he lacked the required expertise in the latter area.
