A former commissioner of police and executive member of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) say they were never bombarded with requests for firearm users’ licences (FULs) from politicians during their time in the service. The former executive member said if that was Gary Griffith’s experience, then he may have very well created that atmosphere for himself.
Former acting commissioner Stephen Williams said he received numerous requests, even from Griffith himself when he was national security minister. On Wednesday, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds was accused by Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal of telling untruths to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament in 2022 when he was asked if he recommended anyone to receive a FUL.
While Minister Hinds said he did not, at least to his recollection, Moonilal provided Guardian Media with screenshots of alleged WhatsApp conversations between Hinds and then commissioner Griffith, which purported otherwise. Griffith did not confirm nor deny the messages but added, “I was bombarded constantly by very senior government officials to get firearms for their friends in high places.”
Guardian Media thought it prudent to ask other leaders in the TTPS if they had a similar experience.
Former acting commissioner Williams, who served during two separate government administrations from 2012 to 2018, said, “I wouldn’t use the term bombarded, but over a span of six years, I would have received numerous requests.”
Williams did not want to say if those requests were for friends and family or MPs, but he did reveal, “I would have received requests from various persons, government officials, including ministers, and including the very said Gary Griffith for the very said issue of security detail.”
On Wednesday, Griffith made it clear that they did not treat any requests from politicians as unethical or illegal. Williams said he did not take note of which administration’s members sent him more requests than the other, but he said he never dealt with them as if it were an instruction.
“The fundamental principle is that when you sit as commissioner of police and you receive a request, you need to know it’s a request and not an instruction. And therefore, you need to exercise the discretion that you have under the law whether you proceed to approve a firearm licence or not, and you are guided by some key principles. So, a request from a politician or even a minister for me is just a request,” he explained.
Williams said if he gave the person who made the request an undertaking that he would deal with the matter, it did not necessarily mean he was going to approve the request. Meanwhile, a former executive member of the TTPS who requested anonymity said he was not surprised Griffith was “bombarded” with requests from politicians as he created a system where people felt empowered to do so.
“Mr Griffith had opened up the system for that so he would get numerous requests. He created that atmosphere. So, Mr Griffith’s position is unique,” he explained.
The former executive member added, “It was good of Mr Griffith trying in some way to open up the system and not keep it as tight as it was before. But opening it up without proper monitoring created some problems, and police officers went before the courts. Too many loopholes were opened up for all kinds of things to place.”
Asked if they were also “bombarded” with requests while serving the TTPS, the former executive member said he served during the audit into the TTPS’ firearms department and the retired Appeal Court judge Justice Stanley John’s report on the issuance of FULs under the TTPS.
“At that stage, people knew what was going on, so hardly anyone came to me at that stage because at that time the firearms issue was hot. So, nobody wanted to make requests,” he explained.
But the former executive member said some requests did come in from permanent secretaries and government ministers. “When emergencies happened, people would make requests, but there was no bombardment of requests coming from the UNC when it was in power or the PNM when they were in power.
“But Mr Griffith and they created the atmosphere for that when they escalated the whole idea of firearms. So, I won’t be surprised if a lot of people send him requests,” he said.
He added that requests were even made by senior police officers on behalf of business owners who felt as if they were under threat.