IC sets record straight on Christie’s post-shooting comments

Integrity Commission (IC) Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton on Tuesday suggested that had an instruction given by former Police Commissioner Antony Anderson been carried out by a senior member of the police force, the attack on a member of the anti-corruption body could have been averted.

Government lawmaker Pearnel Charles Jr resurrected the issue during a meeting of the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee (ICOC), where he asked Panton to comment on a controversial response by the IC’s executive director, Greg Christie.

Following an incident in which Ryan Evans, a director responsible for public education at the IC, was shot and injured at the offices of the commission on September 21, 2023, Christie was asked by journalists for a reaction to the shooting. In his response, Christie said: “You should ask the Government that. Ask them what that means.”

Giving details about the issue for the first time, Panton told members of the ICOC that there were some “very serious security concerns” which he did not want to discuss. However, the IC chairman said, because he was asked, he would respond.

According to Panton, Anderson gave certain instructions to one of his senior officers but those instructions were not carried out.

“Had those instructions been carried out, the incident may well not have happened in respect of Director Evans,” he added.

He indicated that, when the instructions were disregarded, he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and copied it to National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang.

He told the committee that the letter was dispatched to the prime minister and Chang a week before Evans was shot in the car park near the commission’s offices in New Kingston, after men on a motorcycle accosted him and stole his briefcase.

“The reaction by the ED (executive director), to our mind, was understandable,” he said.

The Gleaner understands that, at the time Evans was shot, only one director of the IC had been assigned a close protection officer (CPO) from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, despite the IC also asking for protection for directors who carry out other critical roles in the fight against corruption.

SECURITY BEEFED UP

A reliable source told The Gleaner that, after Evans was shot, the IC had to take immediate steps to assign private security personnel to all the directors of the anti-corruption body.

Following Evans’ shooting, Holness said the Government remained committed to supporting the work of the IC and would take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of its staff.

At Tuesday’s sitting of the ICOC, eyebrows were also raised when Charles said he wanted Panton to comment on claims that Evans was a former adviser to political figures.

Charles raised questions of “impartiality” as well as “conflict” in the conduct of the director’s duties.

Noting that he had no issue with Evans serving, Charles said, however, that he wanted to know how the IC addressed issues that members of the society had expressed concerns about.

“What’s next, what are we going to do about the perception around the viability of a director in terms of his potential impartiality?” Charles questioned.

In his response, a stern Panton declared that it was nonsensical for there to be any discussion about Evans.

He said Evans went through a regular process for recruitment and employment and was appointed by the governor general.

Panton made it clear that Evans, in his role as a director, had nothing to do with reports prepared by the anti-corruption body.

“His job is to go out there and inform people in respect of corruption. He has nothing to do with reports or prosecutions or non-prosecutions.

“We need to remember that our second, third and fourth governors general were active politicians. So, bear that in mind when people are talking about somebody having worked with a politician for a period,” he added.

Panton said the governors general were senior, active politicians for all their lives and they served the country well.

“This question of partisanship, we need to debunk it,” the IC chairman said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com