(Trinidad Express) – One million dollars bail was granted last night to attorney Christian Chandler, head of the Legal Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
That bail was granted by a Justice of the Peace after Chandler, 43, of Haleland Park, Maraval, was slapped with five criminal charges by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) after being pointed out during an identification parade earlier in the day.
The Express understands that Chandler was able to access the bail and was released from the Maloney Police Station on Saturday morning. He was taken into custody on Wednesday evening and is scheduled to appear before a Magistrate on November 25.
The charges brought against him were: possession of a firearm without a Firearm User’s Licence; possession of ammunition without a Firearm User’s Licence; breach of section 3(1)(c) of the Emergency Powers (No 2) Regulations 2021 to wit: found within the internal waters off the West Coast of Trinidad and Tobago for recreational purposes and two counts of obstructing Coast Guard officers in the execution of their duties, pursuant to Section 206 of the Defence Force Act 14:01.
Seven other people – three Special Reserve Police (SRP) officers and four women – who were taken into custody alongside Chandler on Wednesday were also charged with obstructing Coast Guard officers in the execution of their duties and breach of the Emergency Health Regulations.
Those charges stemmed from an incident out at sea on August 5, when Coast Guard officers received a report of a 27-year-old Maraval woman allegedly being held against her will while on board a yacht owned by Chandler.
Upon responding to the report, there was an alleged stand-off between those on the yacht, including Chandler, and the officers.
In all, thirteen people were said to have been on the vessel at the time.
Around 5.30 p.m., on Wednesday, PSB officers swooped down on Chandler’s home and carried out a search before taking him into custody.
On Thursday afternoon, his attorneys Wayne Sturge and Alexia Romero issued a pre-action protocol letter to Deputy Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob, the current head of the TTPS, calling on him to order that Chandler be released no later than 4 p.m., that day.
Their contention was that Chandler had been in police custody for close to 22 hours and yet no charges were laid.
They warned that if their client was not released by that time, an application for a writ of habeas corpus would have been filed at the High Court.
“This course of action is clearly unlawful in the extreme and my client has been the subject of this type of action since the time he subjected himself to this interview process.
“What has been pellucidly clear is that at present, the investigating officers have no evidence that our client was involved in the commission of any criminal offence. The further deprivation of our client’s liberty in those circumstances is clearly unlawful,” the attorneys had written.
But just about two hours later, attorney Tsonda Gayle responded to the letter, saying Chandler’s detention was still reasonable and justifiable since he had only been in custody, up to that time, for 22 hours since his arrest.
“However, noteworthy, the instant matter is still within the common law guidelines of 48 hours at this time, since only approximately 22 hours have elapsed since your client has been in police custody, and less than three hours has elapsed since you served the Office of the Commissioner of Police with your pre-action letter,” Gayle stated.
