Cops storm out awards dinner

A group of officers from the Port-of-Spain Division walked out on acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Oswyn Allard Sunday evening while he was addressing a dinner and awards function at the Vemcott building in Beetham Estate, Laventille. The officers reportedly felt slighted by Allard and other senior officers in favour of the officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force, (IATF) who are stationed at the building.

“Imagine we do all the work but the IATF gets all the praise. One minute we are invited to the ceremony to receive awards, next, none of our hard working officers who are at every exercise are rewarded. But the IATF; who most times serve as back-up and come after the fact, received all the awards. We felt slighted and disrespected, so we left.” Twenty-two plaques in all, plus vouchers and monetary awards, were given out. The IATF is the brainchild of acting DCP Allard and former commissioner of Police Everard Snaggs.

When contacted, Allard defended his actions saying, “When I spoke of the unsung heroes in my address, it is those officers I spoke off. They are intelligence officers and my action was simply to protect their identity. “Those officers are very close to my heart and will always be close to my heart. I consider them faithful and loyal and had no intentions of offending anyone. If I did, I apologise and promise to correct the situation. I call on them to have faith in me and the system and they will be rewarded in the appropriate way and time.”

The acting DCP would not say how soon the rewards would come, nor what it would comprise. In response, Cedric Neptune, head of the Police Social and Welfare Association, said while he had no problems with officers receiving rewards, he was not happy with the manner in which it was done. “IATF is not the only unit solely responsible for the reduction in crime. The CID, the Special Anti-crime Unit and other units all contribute and it is wrong to single out one unit alone. I am not saying the IATF is not deserving, but other units are also deserving.”