Chief Constable Andrew Foo, on Wednesday morning called an emergency meeting to address claims of victimization by one of their constabulary officers, made in a Kaieteur News article published last Sunday.
The article stated that the officer, Lance Corporal Quacy Baveghems, who testified at the recently concluded COI into the operations of City Hall, was banished to guard the Mayor and City Council’s Princes Street Incinerator facility.
Foo stated that the article was brought to his attention on Monday and he immediately engaged the constabulary’s administration and learned that the allegation made by the officer is false. “What was said or carried in the newspaper is that at the time of the COI, that person who would have…presented the information was not the prosecutor of the constabulary.” The Chief Constable, however, said that the officer would have been working at the Regent Street Outpost, where the responsibility entails guard duties at the incinerator compound. “Which means all of the persons who are working at the Regent Street Outpost as subordinate officers, their duty tends to rotate. So at some point you will have to perform duties at that area. So I find that the information that was fed to the media or in fact I should say the misinformation was designed to create mischief to discredit the constabulary and to bring the council into disrepute,” Foo said.
Baveghems could not be contacted for a response to the Chief Constable’s statements.
The Chief Constable went on to say that the article constituted a breach in the standing orders of the constabulary, as the rules and regulations stipulate that serving members should not engage the media, especially with false information.
“In fact, as far as I’m aware, in my discussion with my officers, I’m not even aware that any grievance, any concern would have been raised with them prior to this statement being made to Kaieteur News. In fact, I noted also carried in the story, the rank would have sought an audience with the mayor to have the transfer revoked. There was never a transfer so what was said in terms [of] going to the mayor to have the transfer revoked was not necessary, because the rank was working at the Regent Street Outpost,” Foo stated.
The Mayor and City Council’s Public Relations Officer, Debra Lewis, interjected and stated that even though the media outlet was fed the information, they had the responsibility to contact the council and clarify the information that was given to them. “What we find strange is that Kaieteur News, even if they were fed that, they had a responsibility to call me or call the chief constable to get the appropriate clarification and to find out if indeed this is true,” Lewis chided.
Foo added that officers attached to the Regent Street Outpost are sent to perform duties at the incinerator facility fortnightly. “They would work two weeks in terms of headquarters—what we deem to be the headquarters, the Regent Street Outpost— and they work another two weeks (at the incinerator facility).
Assistant Superintendent Peter Livingstone, joined the meeting and also stated that ranks are deployed from the Regent Street Outpost to perform duties at other facilities, both at the supervisory and constabulary levels.
Livingstone added that he believes Baveghems has an axe to grind and that nothing being meted out to him is anything strange and no special treatment is meted out to him nor other ranks of the constabulary. He added that it’s not a case where the officer would have spent more than two weeks at the location.
“In this case, on the first day he should have commenced work there, he reported that he had an allergy as a result of the environment. Sometime last year, in December, he reported about the environment and caused the place to be cleaned, weeded, painted and everything, just to make sure the ranks are comfortable” said Livingstone.
Lewis stated that she would be grateful for members of the media to contact the Public Relations Department to clarify details if they are approached by staff of the Mayor and City Council.
