The Tribune

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe has recalled his personal experiences with former commissioner Paul Rolle regarding the senior officers who were made to take accumulated vacation and later seconded to various ministries.

His comments came after Mr Rolle said last week that he felt “betrayed” and “deceived” by the Minnis administration in its handling of those officers, adding he never supported them being placed on leave.

“Remember now the former prime minister (Dr Hubert Minnis) said that he was prepared to infringe the Constitution? He said that in Parliament and so it wouldn’t be surprising that they did,” Mr Munroe told reporters outside Cabinet yesterday. The (former) commissioner of police was very frank in what he said. I’m able to say from personal knowledge because when it happened to assistant commissioner Strachan I represented him. When they started with the other ACPs I gave them advice in terms of the litigation beyond Ferguson presenting them, but I would have occasion to meet with the (former)commissioner of police.

“He would entertain me, and it was clear to me from what he said that what was happening was directed or not by his choice. And the clear test of that is you would recall that by the time the prime minister came to be sworn in, the ACPs had been reinstated. So, he hadn’t been directed by anyone to reinstate them. So, I read that he had been directed to do to them what he did and when those people lost at the ballot then he wasn’t under that compulsion anymore. By the time I came to be sworn in they had been reinstated for days or a week at least. My understanding right after the election.”

The minister assured Bahamians that the current administration will allow the new commissioner to carry out his job.

“Well, the starting point is he won’t be getting those from the Davis-Cooper administration. Notwithstanding that people seek to push us to do the police’s job. We’ve been resolute in saying a policing plan is for the commissioner of police. Our job is to provide him with resources. He is the law enforcement professional. I don’t want to be the commissioner of police. Prime Minister Davis doesn’t want to be the commissioner of police,” he said.

“We had a very competent one that wasn’t permitted to function fully. We have a competent one incoming and as politicians we need to provide them with the resources they need to do the job, get their advice, and then support them when they’re doing what they should be doing, but it’s not our business to direct them how and why.”

He also said: “As I have said, the prime minister has also spoken about what is supposed to be the independence of the police commissioner, which we will not interfere with.

“The only way that the government ought to be able to have any input is if the commissioner asks for $100m worth of resources and we say the budget can only bear 80 because then that will be something where he would be able to say this was my plan. This part of my plan was funded, this part of my plan wasn’t funded and then that will call politicians to answer a political question when the public says that the commissioner of police told you he needed this to do this. Why did you only give him this?”