(Trinidad Guardian) Former commissioner of police Gary Griffith was the subject of debate in the House of Representatives yesterday, as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley told the House that a former CoP had stormed out of a polygraph test saying that he did not like the questions.
Rowley was speaking during a debate on the bill to establish a framework for polygraph testing.
“Would you believe the said Commissioner of Police, as an applicant for the post of Commissioner of Police, being required to do the same thing he asked his officers to do … flatly refused to be polygraphed, walk out of the test, disconnect himself and say he didn’t like the questions,” Rowley said.
The Prime Minister did not say who the former commissioner was.
He said the former CoP had to be told that if he wanted to be considered as an applicant, he had to do the test.
“Well, Madame Speaker, he so want the position, he come back and he hook up again. The results are there for all to know,” he said.
Speaking after Rowley, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal was the first to introduce Gary Griffith’s name as he referred to a social media post by Griffith.
“The Prime Minister made reference to a former commissioner of police not wanting or not availing himself to undertaking a polygraph test as part of recruitment to the office of commissioner of police. Now the Prime Minister did not name the applicant for commissioner of police but it led swiftly on social media to a comment by former commissioner of police Griffith indicating that it was not him, in case the Member for Diego Martin West wanted to suggest in any form or fashion that it was him. It was not and he submitted himself to polygraph testing,” he said.
However, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds rebutted when he rose to wind up the debate, confirming that it was Griffith who the Prime Minister was referring.
“The Prime Minister would have raised the question of polygraphing and mentioned that a former commissioner … he called no name … walked out of a polygraphing experience and that was quite absolutely correct, Madame Speaker, it happened.
“And to make matters worse, pull the electrode off and I was present at the level of the National Security Council when the question of the walking out of the polygraph by that former commissioner, a very recent former commissioner, the same one who sent the WhatsApp to the member for Oropouche East today,” Hinds said.
He continued: “He was asked, ‘Did you walk out of a polygraph, pull off the electrodes and walk out,’ and he said ‘yes’ he did. And when asked why, he gave an explanation that the questions that we asked were not the questions that they were supposed to ask.
“When asked further about it he said those were not the questions you were supposed to ask … those were not the questions that came from the Police Service Commission. It begs the question how did you know what question was supposed to be asked? And he walked straight out. I hope the member for Oropouche East send him back a WhatsApp and tell him that,” Hinds said.
Responding via a media statement shortly after, Griffith described the Prime Minister’s comment as “misinformation”.
“I wish to make it abundantly clear that on the two occasions for the application of CoP in 2021 and 2022, I was fully polygraphed and it was wholly completed. In fact, in 2021, when the Police Service Commission was not compromised and not an apparent instrument of the Government, I acquired 94 per cent, (20 per cent more than Erla Christopher) and topped that Merit List, which included the polygraph test done on myself. Had I not completed any polygraph test, then I would not have been shortlisted and topped the Merit List,” Griffith said.
