Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Paul Slowe was yesterday released on bail after being formally faced with a charge of conspiracy to defraud the State and three counts of sexual assault.
Slowe, who recently returned from overseas, faced the charges at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he appeared in response to a summons. However, as he was making his way to attend the hearing there was an attempt by ranks of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to arrest him over the same charges, which he called an “abuse of power” and “bully policing.”
Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus eventually released him on bail after reading the charges to him.
Slowe is jointly charged with conspiracy along with retired Assistant Commissioner Clinton Conway; Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor; former Police Finance officers, Woman Senior Super-intendent, Marcelene Washington and retired Senior Superintendent, Michael Sutton; staff of the Police Finance Office, Assistant Superintendent, Marlon Kellman and three retired officers identified as Assistant Commissioner Claude Whittaker, Senior Superintendent George Fraser and Superintendent Mark Gilbert.
He was not required to plead to the charge, which alleges that between March 1, 2019, and July 7, 2020, at the Guyana Police Force Headquarters, Eve Leary, he conspired with Conway, Whittaker, Fraser, Gilbert, Andries-Junor, Washing-ton, Sutton and Kellman, and with other persons, to defraud the Force of $10,056,000. It is alleged that Slowe, along with others, were paid the money without complying with the proper procedures, purportedly to do a review of the Force Standing Orders. It was found that this review had already commenced in July 2018 and concluded in March 2019, by the Strategic Planning Unit of the Force.
He also faces three additional charges of sexual assault. It is alleged that on March 26, 2019, at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Slowe allegedly touched the victim in a sexual way by rubbing her left leg and foot without consent. It is further alleged that on March 29, 2019, at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Slowe touched the victim in a sexual way by rubbing her left leg and foot without consent. It is also alleged that on April 2, 2019, at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, Slowe touched the victim in a sexual way by rubbing her left leg and foot without consent.
Slowe was not required to plead to the three charges. He told the court that while out of the jurisdiction, on October 8, a summons was sent to one of his attorneys for him to appear in court on Friday. He was represented yesterday by attorneys-at-law, Selwyn Pieters and Patrice Henry.
According to his attorneys, he was charged by the state while being absent from court. The attorneys said that the Special Organized Crimes Unit then tried to arrest him when he showed up for court yesterday.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Slowe lamented that the ranks who were trying to arrest him, identified as Assistant Superintendent Ramana and others, in response to him asking what he was being arrested for, stated that he was being arrested for the very charge that he was at the court to answer. “This was an outrageous abuse of power. How [do] you arrest someone for a matter before the court for which an arrest warrant was not issued, when that person turns up in court to answer to the same charge? This is nothing more that ‘bully policing’,” he declared.
He added that the ranks were all in civilian clothes and when asked to identify themselves could not immediately produce their Police Identification Card.
“Imagine they went to the court, dressed in civilian clothes, to arrest someone and could not produce their police identification. I can well imagine how people who are not familiar with police procedures and may feel intimidated are treated. This is policing at its worse which must not be condoned,” he said.
During the encounter, a rank held on to his arm and another could be seen at one point holding him by his belt. As a result, he said the ranks held on to him when they had no lawful grounds to do so amounts to an assault, for which he intend to take the appropriate action.
“Let me make it quite clear I was not asking for any special consideration. But I would not allow anyone to violate my rights, which is clearly what happened today when the ranks held on to me when they had no lawful reason to do so, and even when they were advised by my lawyer to let go of me,” he added.
Slowe was released on $100,000 bail on the conspiracy charge and $75,000 for each sexual assault charge. The matters were adjourned until November 26.
The charges were instituted following an investigation conducted by the Auditor General and later the police. SOCU has instituted charges of the same nature against a number of GPF members. Concerning the sexual assault charges, it was reported by this newspaper that the complainant reported the incidents to her superior but no actions were taken. However, after time elapsed, a follow up report was made and she then raised her concerns with her superior who ordered the police to launch an investigation.
