Police Commissioner (ag) Nigel Hoppie has written to Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir informing him that the police investigation into the alleged assault of APNU+AFC Member of Parliament (MP) Tabitha Sarabo-Halley did not point to any evidence of physical attack.
Contacted yesterday, Nadir confirmed that he received a letter from Hoppie late last week, which included details about the investigation.
“….In that same letter, the Commissioner said that after they reviewed the tape, there clearly was an exchange of words but no evidence to show that there was anything physical,” he said.
In a section of the letter seen by Stabroek News, Hoppie told Nadir that from the statements obtained by the police “there was evidence to indicate that the parties indeed had an exchange of words but there was nothing to suggest that any assault took place”.
The Top Cop said that CCTV footage would have been “vital” in the probe. However, Hoppie said there was none located in the area where the alleged incident took place.
“This alleged incident occurred within the confines of the National Assembly of Guyana, and as such it was recommended that the issue be dealt with by the Speaker of the National Assembly, who has such powers as set out in the Standing Orders of the National Assembly,” the letter noted.
Asked what will be the next step in the matter, Nadir said that he will be guided by the police report.
“As such, the matter for me stops there,” Nadir said, while adding, “anything is possible I guess but the parties chose to go to the police and the police did carry out an investigation. They didn’t see any evidence of any physical contact”.
On March 3rd, it was alleged that Minister of Public Affairs Kwame McCoy assaulted Sarabo-Halley in the corridors of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre just outside the parliamentary proceedings which were taking place in the main conference hall.
McCoy later issued a statement denying he had assaulted Sarabo-Halley, the former minister of the public service.
About two weeks ago, Stabroek News had reported that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had advised the police that Nadir should use the Standing Orders of Parliament to address the assault complaint made by Sarabo-Halley.
A reading of the Standing Orders by Stabroek News does not suggest that there are any provisions for Nadir to address a criminal complaint.
