Acting Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has warned citizens to be cautious in making unfounded allegations against police officers.
Griffith said he has noted in recent days an unfortunate upsurge on social media of “misleading and damning allegations with no evidence, aimed at senior police officers, which question their credibility.”
He said he believes that it is because of the ongoing assessment and the selection process for the post of Commissioner of Police, “whereby it seems that certain individuals, including a few reporters, may have a preference or even a distaste for certain applicants, and are hence pushing stories and even showing to the public, the questions being asked, in an obvious attempt to assist certain applicants, or to discredit others.”
“The oldest trick in reporting is to ask questions, then make it known to the public, hence trying to persuade others that the questions asked can be factual, hence discrediting the individual regardless of what comment he/she makes,” Griffith said.
He noted that before it is perceived that he is trying to prevent freedom of speech, he assured that nothing is further from the truth, and anyone is free to print whatever they feel about him.
However, he added that in his capacity of presently leading the Police Service, it is his duty to defend his officers if targeted unfairly.
“I have seen articles, accusations, and reports, with questions aimed to discredit other applicants and even those who did not apply. I kindly ask that we all take a deep breath, step back, and understand that this does not assist the Police Service by discrediting anyone because of your interest in the process of the appointment of the COP,” Griffith said.
“Certain damning allegations have been made on social media at certain senior officers, some of whom have applied, and others, who have not applied for the post, and I wish to state that there is not a shred of evidence to support such claims,” he added.
Griffith said the selection process for the CoP is not a political campaign, “so character assassination of those you do not support is not part of the process, and unfortunately, some are treating it as such, which does nothing to build the morale of the TTPS, nor build public trust and confidence when senior officers are accused and targeted unfairly.”
“Whereas in political campaigns, character assassinations can be the norm because after an election, politicians on either side of the fence do not have to work together. It is the opposite in this process for the appointment of a Police Commissioner. Smear campaigns to discredit one officer because of your preference for another, certainly does not help, as these same officers must work together to protect and serve the public. So unwarranted character assassination of senior officers, makes it difficult for the Police Service to work as a team, as there is going to be a day after the Police Commissioner is appointed, and whoever that it may be, such unfortunate comments do not help in building the image and productivity of the Police Service,” Griffith said.
He has asked all to be very cautious in their statements, as they “border on making public statements of ongoing investigations, which can be perceived as contempt of court.”