CoP slams Senator Nakhid for his repeated attacks on the TTPS

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CoP slams Senator Nakhid for his repeated attacks on the TTPS

Are the constant attacks on the TTPS by Senator Nakhid
the views of the Opposition?

The Commissioner of Police has corrected what he deemed as misinformation, as it relates to a video featuring UNC senator David Nakhid.

In the video, Senator Nakhid makes a claim that Commissioner Gary Griffith stated that a person in custody fell off a chair and died.

However, in a post to social media, the TTPS said “The facts are that neither the Commissioner nor any other member of the TTPS made such a statement.”

Senator Nakhid also claims that two persons in police custody were killed.

This, the TTPS said “is a very unfortunate statement which suggests that Senator Nakhid has already adjudicated this issue and found persons guilty.”

“The Commissioner is unaware of what investigative body Senator Nakhid is a member of, since this matter is being investigated by both the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and Senator Nakhid is not party to either.”

Senator Nakhid also makes claims of a police state with regards to a situation in which the Commissioner was forced to contact the PSB after being tagged in a Facebook post.
He does this despite the very simple explanation, that the poster made certain claims as ‘facts’, and those claims suggested the poster had information vital to an ongoing murder and kidnapping investigation, and the Commissioner would have been derelict in his duties had he not made a report. ”

The TTPS notes, “The issue of contacting persons who have vital information about an ongoing investigation is not punitive against the person, rather it is about getting information on the criminals to ensure that criminal activity ceases.”

They said “If the TTPS fails to act and these accused go on to commit further crimes, the TTPS will be at fault and would need to be held accountable.
Any one of the false claims would be bad if made by an average citizen, but they are especially egregious when it is made by a Senator. ”

This is further compounded by utterances in the past which suggest Senator Nakhid has a personal problem with the TTPS.

The TTPS release said “We understand that Senator Nakhid’s issue with law enforcement, in general, may have arisen from his time spent in Lebanon and his incarceration there, which he also spoke about in the video, but this grievance is no justification for his unfounded and repeated attacks on Trinidad and Tobago’s police service.”

“Interestingly, Senator Nakhid seems to have a hobby of doing videos to attack the police but never the criminals. A position that is not aligned with most of the nation.
This is especially important for him to understand given the trauma experienced by the death of Andrea Bharatt, which has galvanized a nation against crime and criminals.” according to the TTPS.

Lastly, the TTPS said it would like to ascertain if Senator Nakhid is speaking for the Opposition UNC, “because if he isn’t, we would strongly urge its leadership to make their position on crime and criminals clear.”

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