Almost a week after army intelligence officer Robert Pyle was killed in a horrific vehicular collision that claimed two other lives, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) yesterday broke its silence and confirmed that he was on a “legitimate operation.”
“Defence Headquarters wishes to notify the public that the late Sergeant Robert Pyle, a member of the Intelligence Unit of the Guyana Defence Force, was deployed on a legitimate operation in support of the Special Organized Crime Unit, (SOCU) on Wednesday December 30, 2015,” the GDF said in a statement yesterday.
The statement came mere hours after the Private Sector Commission (PSC) called on the police and the army to explain the circumstances behind the accident, following reports that it involved the chase of a person who was believed to be the daughter of National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) Head Winston Brassington.
Pyle’s wife Stacy Amanda Pyle, who was with him at the time, and a truck driver, Linden Eastman, also died in the collision.
In its statement yesterday, the GDF said it is normal for the army to support the country’s law enforcement and regulatory agencies in operational activities, especially as part of the ongoing “Operation Dragnet.”
Operation Dragnet is a massive countrywide anti-crime and counter-terrorism operation, which was launched last month. The operation, which will end in June, is being executed by the Joint Services.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had informed that Operation Dragnet was, in part, government’s response to concerns raised by the business community. He said it was government’s way of assuring the business community that their concerns did not fall on deaf ears, while at the same time allaying the fears of the populace regarding the crime rate in the country.
The GDF, however, did not detail Pyle’s specific assignment.
The PSC had earlier urged Police Commis-sioner Seelall Persaud and the GDF Chief of Staff Brigadier Mark Philips to confirm media reports that Pyle was in an operation targeted at civilians.
Observers say this particular operation in support of the relatively new agency, SOCU raises serious concerns and questions including:
-Who or which agency has overall control of these SOCU-supporting operations?
-What is the extent of training of the operatives in these exercises?
-What was their mandate in relation to NICIL/Winston Brassington?
-Is it acceptable for Brassington’s children to be surveilled and does the SOCU mandate extend to them?
-How was it that the intelligence about the occupants of the car was so wrong?
-How was it that Officer Pyle was conducting a dangerous operation with his wife in the vehicle?
-Did Officer Pyle have training specific to such chases in a high traffic area like Carifesta Avenue?
-What compensation will be made available to the families of Linden Eastman and Stacy Pyle?
-Whether intended or not the intelligence officer ended up pursuing the relatives of a PPP/C Member of Parliament.
An army source told Stabroek News that while the public may be alarmed to learn of the army’s partnerships with the police or other agencies, it should not be as it is nothing new. “This is nothing new. Sometimes we go with CANU [the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit], sometimes the police, we even do with GGMC [the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission] but we can’t make the public privy to these operations because it can blow your cover. If you are working undercover, what good would it serve for me to come to Stabroek [News] or Kaieteur [News] and say… that defeats everything,” the source said.
“Intel is just that—intel. The public has to trust us sometimes because behind the scenes we are working, working for them, protecting them but we can’t share secret information, then it is not a secret anymore… all over the world you have these operations… they just have to trust us,” the source added.
Stabroek News understands that at the time of Pyle’s death he was seconded to SOCU to do stakeout work at the home of NICIL head Brassington.
Sources told this newspaper that the SOCU agents attached to that investigation blundered and instead were staking out the home of PPP/C MP Charles Ramson Jr, who also lives on Cowan Street, Kingston. The agents ended up pursuing a relative of Ramson and her relative. They escaped the attempt to intercept them.
One source said that another agent, who received a tip that persons were at the residence, called Pyle, who was on his way home after picking up his wife, a nurse at a city hospital, for back up.
The source said that while they could not say what happened after, it is believed that Pyle approached Ramson’s relative and her relative and they were probably scared and sped off and Pyle and his partner, who was in another vehicle, gave chase. “They acted with haste and I don’t think what was reported should have been. Sometimes these young officers are excited and don’t keep with operational protocol. There are many flaws there as is but until a detailed investigation is completed we will not be able to fully put together all the pieces,” the source said.
The Private Sector Commission asked for details of the army officer being a part of a civilian operation as it said it has caused unease, not only within the private sector but among the public. “The Private Sector Commission is saddened by the death of the three persons in a New Year’s Eve accident on Carifesta Avenue but is alarmed by the media reports with regards to the circumstances leading up to the accident. These media reports allege that a Guyana Defence Force soldier was engaged in a surveillance operation targeted at civilians and further that he was engaged in a high speed deadly car chase through the streets of Georgetown chasing a vehicle which he believed contained the teenage daughter of Winston Brassington,” a statement issued by the organisation said yesterday.
“Since these media reports have not been refuted by the relevant authorities the Commission calls upon the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force and the Commissioner of Police to bring clarity as to whether the allegations in the media are true and whether this was an authorised assignment carried out on behalf of either of these agencies. This matter has caused immense apprehension in the business community and we believe that answers are needed not only by us but by the larger society,” the statement also said.
Traffic Chief Deon Moore told Stabroek News that the police were still investigating the accident.
