Transcript
ATA: The commissioner was back to work today to resume his normal duties but this morning I understand from sources within the police that the commissioner was informed of other criminal charges and he was arrested at the same time. The police commissioner has been released, I'm told, by the police and he's been released on liberty but no bail conditions right now. There is a set date now for the mention of the charges which will be the 28th of November. The commissioner is facing seven charges, one of incite to murder, two of possession of unlawful weapon, two of armed with a dangerous weapon, one each charge of insulting and threatening words. But according to the police I spoke to there will be more charges to be filed. There was a scuffle, you know, there was some division between the arresting officers and some of the officers who are in support of the commissioner which resulted to one of the police constables being put into custody and he's now facing (charges of using) insulting words but according to the police I spoke to, that officer will also face more charges because of his actions this morning.
SR: They went into his office did they to arrest him?
ATA: According to the information I received from the police this afternoon, the police commissioner was arrested when he reported to work this morning.
SR: There were separate charges against him; he'd been suspended while he was facing those charges and that was in relation to a case of wrongful arrest last year. These latest charges, are they to do with the same case or something different?
ATA: This is a separate investigation of the police on some of the operations that was carried out during the time of the commissioner before his suspension and this is one of the police raids that was happening at the village of Faleatiu some time this year in which the police is alleged to have been committing these offences.
SR: So just clarifying it has nothing to do with the previous case for which he was facing charges?
ATA: Absolutely no relation to the other four criminal charges he was facing. That was the outcome of the Ombudsman's Commission of Inquiry into a complaint by one of the small business operators at the Fugalei market. His block was raided by the police in October last year, in which the police commissioner was also involved in that group of police who were in that raid and the outcome of that Commission of Inquiry by the Ombudsman was recommendations to file criminal charges. As you know from last Friday's court case in the Supreme Court, the hired prosecutor from New Zealand, by the Attorney-General, made an application in court that after he reviewed the file of the whole charges, he comes to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence to prove the charges.
SR: Nevertheless there seems to be a desire to get the commissioner on something, going on the latest incident?
ATA: Well, it's hard to say now because as you see the reports in our file there is a division within the ministry of police now between police officers who are in support of the police commissioner and also other senior officers who are very unhappy of how the police commissioner is handling the administration and the management of the ministry. Now they do another separate investigation and this is the outcome, the seven charges that the commissioner is also now facing again.
