Trinidad & Tobago top cop cleared

PORT OF SPAIN (Trinidad Guardian) – Embattled Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the importation of two sniper rifles for the Strategic Services Agency.

The outcome of the probe was announced by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, in a press release late Saturday.

Gaspard said that while the evidence contained in a file presented to him by the T&T Police Service, coupled with her granting of the Firearm Import Permit, was sufficient to lead to her arrest as a suspect, the evidence present does not reach the required threshold to lead to a criminal charge.

The DPP said there was no realistic prospect of securing a conviction against Harewood-Christopher for misbehaviour in public office or any other offence.

“I am further fortified in my conviction since the evidence has not unearthed any improper motive, consideration or quid pro quo which might have unlawfully undergirded the COP’s issuance of the subject permit,” he said.

The announcement came two days before a High Court judge was due to deliver a judgement in a lawsuit brought by Harewood-Christopher challenging a decision of the Police Service Commission to suspend and replace her pending the outcome of the investigation.

It also comes days before the end of Harewood-Christopher’s extended term. She celebrates her 62nd birthday on Thursday.

She was arrested and detained by investigators in late January and suspended shortly after being released from custody, pending further investigations.

The COP then filed the lawsuit challenging the legality of her suspension.