…until completion of police probe, inquest

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan says that he prefers to await the outcome of a police investigation and Coroner’s Inquest before commenting on the involvement of an army rank in the recent bungled Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) operation that resulted in three deaths.

Since the confirmation that army intelligence officer Robert Pyle, who was killed in a crash following a high speed chase along Carifesta Avenue on December 30 last, was doing surveillance for SOCU, questions have been raised about whether his activities were within the unit’s mandate.

Last week, the Guyana Bar Association called on the government to mount an independent inquiry into the operation, while saying that an explanation is needed for the use of military officers in such activities.

SOCU is a police institution whose head reports directly to the Police Commissioner. Sources have said that nowhere in its mandate is there mention of the use of army ranks in the execution of its investigative functions.

Stabroek News yesterday visited Assistant Commissioner Sydney James, the head of SOCU, at the agency’s Camp Street office seeking answers to this question but he declined to comment.

Stabroek News also reached out to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud but to no avail as after a wait of more than 30 minutes at his Eve Leary office, this newspaper was told he was preparing to head off to a meeting.

Ramjattan, while noting that President David Granger has spoken on the matter already, reiterated that he had previously said that Pyle, a sergeant, was on legitimate business.

Asked specifically to comment on the army’s involvement in what is supposed to be a police operation, Ramjattan made reference to recent calls by the Berbice Chamber of Commerce for army support in the crime fight. He said that when he visited the area a few months ago, officials from the Chamber were “clamouring for me to have the army join up, to look after them.” He stressed that in the past there has been army and police “joining up to do operations.”

“…I am not saying that there might be distinguishing factors but I will await the outcome of the Coronor’s Inquest and the investigation of the police force before I make any final statement,” he told this newspaper.

“The Berbice Chamber of Commerce cannot three months ago… when there was a massive spike in Berbice, demand that we get the utility of the police and the joint services and now, politically, because the PPP is making huge statements about these things and other people are making statements, you are gonna jump and say, ‘Well, why did we have police (and) army cooperating in certain exercises,” he said, while adding that it is “hypocritical and contradictory.”

“Once the exercise is legitimate, yes, I believe that the government and the ministry will be responsible for whatever is the faults that might have occurred because the buck stops at this Public Service Ministry and I, as the Minister, will take the responsibility,” he added.

On Saturday, the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce said an explanation was needed for the surveillance operation, especially given the experiences of the 1970s and 1980s and a recent announcement of the resuscitating of the People’s Militia.

According to Ramjattan, he would like to know what transpired on the night of December 30, hence the police investigation. He said that police have already received a statement from Alana Seebarran, who was in a car being chased by Pyle prior to the crash.

It is now known that Pyle was under the belief that the car was occupied by relatives of the Head of NICIL Winston Brassington. Seebarran is the wife of PPP/ C MP Charles Ramson Jr. and at the time she was with her brother Raymond. They were not physically hurt. In addition to Pyle, his wife, Stacy, who was in the car with him, and truck driver Linden Eastman were killed when their two vehicles collided head-on.

There are reports that another car was part of the chase.

Ramjattan informed too that a statement has to be taken from “some other car driver that was there” along with statements from other persons who were dealing directly with that exercise.”

With regards to the inquest, he said that in line with the law persons could get more information out of those who will be called as witnesses. Additionally, he said that the coroner himself can ask those witnesses questions. “And that is the law. I do not see the need for any Commission of Inquiry. There will be a police probe and that set of statements will be delivered to the DPP and then a Coroner’s Inquest will be ordered and at the Coroner’s Inquest, lots of other things that people would like to see come out they can ask questions and that is a general rule,” he said.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, in a letter to the press over the weekend, also questioned the involvement of the army in the operations of SOCU. He went as far as to say that the high speed chase has confirmed his worst fears that “SOCU is operating with an unknown, vastly different and perhaps sinister remit.”

He said that he was instrumental in the establishment of the unit, whose remit was to investigate reports and information passed to it by the Financial Intelligence Unit. It was supposed to be part of Guyana’s AML/ CFT apparatus. “It had no other mandate,” he said.

According to Nandlall, its officers were supposed to be investigators, accountants, lawyers and other technical personnel sworn in as police officers to confer them with police powers in law, in order to carry out investigations into allegations and suspicions of money-laundering and terrorism.

James, who was an army officer, was sworn in as an Assistant Commissioner of Police before he took up the helm of the unit.

Nandlall, in his letter, said SOCU was supposed to be a civilian law enforcement authority, staffed with civilians to carry out civilian investigations. “The Guyana Defence Force had no role to play in this unit. It appears as if this unit has metamorphosed into something radically different,” he said.