Griffith, made the statement in response to comments made on Saturday by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, in which he called on the Commissioner, to distribute the law equally. 

The Prime Minister’s  statement followed days of uncertainty and uproar surrounding police officers’ decision to let a group of pool partiers in a gated community go uncharged.

Speaking during a media conference on Saturday, Rowley said the  Commissioner must  hold everyone to account for their “errant actions”.

The Prime Minister said that while he is in no position to tell the Commissioner how to do his job, he does expect the police to act responsibly in all situations.

“It is not for me to tell the Commissioner of Police who to arrest or how to arrest or how to apply the law, but as Prime Minister, I could tell the Commissioner of Police that the law must apply to protect us in Trinidad and Tobago from those who are not prepared to listen and not prepared to fight the fight that we want to fight to bring this virus under control,” he said.

In a statement on Sunday, in response to the Prime Minister, Griffith  said  the police would be breaching constitutional rights by arresting them for acts committed when there were no laws enacted to do so.

“(The) PM alluding for police to breach constitutional rights of persons by arresting them for acts committed when there was no law enacted to do so. I am committed to uphold the law and not break it by arresting persons illegally as proposed.”

The Commissioner said the  TTPS “has been thrown under the proverbial bus”.

“The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) notes with some degree of disappointment the comments of the Honourable Prime Minister yesterday where he alluded to and/or insinuated that the TTPS failed to do its job as it related to the matter involving a party held poolside at Bayside Towers in Cocorite.”

According to Griffith – “the police force stands ready and committed to enforce all laws passed by the Government, however we must be wary of simply responding to public or political pressure especially as it relates to potentially abusing the rights of individuals and/or acting illegally in a quest to satisfy public or political pressure.’

The TTPS said it has sought several legal opinions on the matter and is comfortable with the interpretation of the law, and its response.

‘We have sought and received several legal opinions on this and are indeed comfortable with our current interpretation of the law and therefore our response to the matter at hand.’

“The law as currently constructed does NOT diminish a person’s constitutional rights as a whole and in particular, their rights to enjoy property. This makes for a difficult judgement call on the part of the TTPS.”

“The TTPS said it is committed to enforcing the public health regulations and has no concern with race, creed or class – as the TTPS, we respond to breaches of the Public Health Ordinance. We don’t respond to perceptions of race, creed, or class.”

The TTPS further said that suggesting that some people received special treatment is ‘ridiculous, misinformed and dangerous.

‘Since the beginning of the “lockdown’, we have consistently taken the approach to warn and persuade ahead of arrest. The suggestion that somehow persons at one location have gotten privileges that others haven’t gotten is ridiculous, misinformed, and dangerous, and only inflames an already delicate situation.’

‘The Prime Minister, as the most experienced politician in the Government, should know that the amendments to the law cannot be done through press conferences. The PM should know that any changes to the constitutional rights of citizens should be done through Parliament.’

The TTPS also warned that unlawful detentions and arrests could cost the state via costly lawsuits.

CMC