Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith’s wife, Nicole Dyer-Griffith, says she is not one bit fearful of death threats issued against her early Wednesday.
Speaking with Guardian Media, Dyer-Griffith added that she "won't waste time talking."
Her comment comes as CoP Griffith received two death threats, over the weekend and again just after 1 am Wednesday, the second also threatening harm to her.
Griffith meanwhile told Guardian Media he expects "these desperate threats on a daily basis." However, he added that he will continue along with the work he has already started in cleaning up the criminal elements in T&T.
"Well...there is a new kid on the block who would not allow these thugs to bully law-abiding citizens as easily as they did before, so these threats are expected,” Griffith said.
According to a police report, at about 1.30 am Wednesday an anonymous caller phoned the T&T Police Service’s Command Centre.
The male caller, whose number was registered, reportedly said: “I want to summon Gary Griffith for defamation of character against me tomorrow in court, or else I will call him and chop off he (expletive) mother (expletive) head. How you like that? And kill he wife Nicole Dyer... huh mother (expletive).”
On Sunday at 8.25 am an E999 operator also received a call from a bmobile number where a male caller said: “We are coming to kill Gary Griffith.”
The call was then transferred to the E999’s police corporal on duty, where the caller repeated his threat to kill Griffith. The caller then extended his death to the police corporal who took the call. The corporal immediately informed the relevant senior officers.
That same day at about 6.30 pm, after tracing the number, acting Insp Narace, Sgt Austin and a party of Police and Defence Force officers went to an apartment at the Plannings along George Street, Port-of-Spain, to execute search warrants. However, the two people of interest were not there.
After receiving additional information, the officers went to another apartment on Nelson Street where they interviewed a woman, who was said to be the registered owner of the phone which was used to make the threatening call. She gave the officers her cellphone and gave her number, which was the same one which was registered during the death threat call. Both the woman and her 21-year-old daughter were taken into the Port-of-Spain CID for further questioning.
In response to the first threat, Gary said he has no fear as expressing fear can cause a leader to make incorrect decisions in a conflict.
“My training and experience in combat did not have a module to teach you to be fearful. I do not know what that feels like,” he said then.
Griffith then made a vow to continue his mission to make the country safer, noting he plans to specifically focus on the illegal weapon and drug trade, gang activity and white-collar crime.
More on this story as information comes to hand.