ALEXANDER CHARGED

The charges were formalised at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court on Thursday and the investigator will proceed by way of a summons which must be served on both Insp Alexander and PC Mieres and they will appear in court subsequently.

It was alleged that on July 12, officers went to Santa Cruz Old Road where an altercation took place with contractor Christopher Charles, over ownership of land. Charles later made a report to police and also went to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) which began an investigation. After several months of intense investigations, the case file was completed and forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC on Thursday, who instructed that the charges be laid.

Efforts yesterday to reach Insp Alexander on the matter proved futile as all calls to his cell phone went unanswered. Yesterday on the Beyond The Tape show, a sombre co-host Marlan Hopkinson announced ‘live’ that Insp Alexander would not be on the programme but expressed confidence that his co-host would return “soon”. Substituting for Insp Alexander yesterday was Ag Snr Supt (Tobago) Joanne Archie. It is not known if she would continue on the programme in Alexander’s absence.

ALLEYNE OVERJOYED On the competing crime talk show Crime Watch, aired on Synergy TV and hosted by Ian Alleyne, there was joy as Alleyne used music and quoted Scripture profusely as he made ‘mas’ on Alexander, his former co-host when Crime Watch was aired on TV6 in 2011. Last February, Insp Alexander arrested and charged Alleyne for resisting arrest and using obscene language.

This case is still pending before the courts.

“I am still standing! There may be weeping in the night, but joy cometh in the morning,” Alexander exclaimed as the majority of yesterday’s show was dedicated to the charges laid against Insp Alexander.

Alleyne also used video footage showing him being arrested by Insp Alexander last year.

Retired Snr Supt Johnny Abraham, also called in on the Crime Watch programme to weigh in on the laying of charges on Alexander.

‘IT’S A BIG BLOW’ Commenting yesterday on the laying of the charges, Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said the ‘Beyond the Tape’ show which is a production of the TT Police Service will continue despite Alexander being charged. He spoke at the launch of a new driver’s permit at the Ministry of Works and Transport office in Port-of- Spain. “Getting a suitable replacement for Inspector Alexander is not an easy thing. It is a challenge and it will take a period of time to work through. But we will be continuing with the programme. It is a fantastic programme and one which gives the police service an opportunity to engage with the public, share information, get feedback from the public...

so it is a useful programme for us,” Williams said.

He said that the credibility of the TT Police Service suffered a blow by the laying of charges against Insp Alexander, who through the Beyond The Tape series, had become the public face of the TT Police Service’s fight against crime.

Secretary of the Police Social Welfare Association (PSWA) Ag ASP Anand Ramesar said, “this development is most unfortunate both for the officer and the Service, given the fact that this officer was charged with the responsibility of improving the image of the Service.”