Bailey slams IC over robbery investigation claims
Published:Friday | July 19, 2024 | 12:10 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey has chastised the Integrity Commission, urging it to correct and apologise for a section in its annual report which accused the police of showing scant regard for the investigation of a robbery involving one of the commission’s directors.
“I think the Integrity Commission needs to apologise to the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force)”, a peeved Deputy Commissioner said on Wednesday during an interview on RJR’s Beyond the Headlines with Dionne Jackson-Miller.
In its annual report for 2023-2024 released in July, IC Chairman Justice Panton said neither the director, Ryan Evans, or the commission had received an update from the police on the investigation into the September 2023 shooting.
“That crime remains unsolved. I imagine that investigations are taking place,” said Panton, who noted that “the police ought to be very concerned that this happened in the New Kingston business district, where there are no zinc fences, no bushes, and very few side roads, yet the perpetrator was able to disappear without a trace in the clear morning light”.
Panton had also noted that a serious criminal act was committed in the vicinity of the commission.
However, Bailey said the probe was stalled because the director failed to sign a statement.
“We could not proceed. If somebody is found, who is going identify them, who is going to give a description, and so forth? If we arrest somebody, on what basis would that person be taken before the court?” Bailey asked.
However, Bailey said Evans signed the document on Wednesday.
“That is all we wanted Mr Evans to come and do,” he said.
Speaking on the programme on Tuesday, Evans said that he had been traumatised by the incident but was ready to proceed.
‘Unfortunate situation’
Bailey, however, lashed the IC chairman for his statement and even questioned the level of quality control at the anti-corruption agency.
“It is just an unfortunate situation,” he said, saying the comments were unjustly made.
“They need [to] put an addendum to the report to clarify the current situation,” Bailey said.
Bailey also noted that shooting had nothing to do with the director’s job at the IC. He said criminals robbed the director based on a pattern of behaviour involving monthly bank transactions.
According to him, the JCF also had no obligation to update the commission.
In the meantime, he said the investigation continues and some things were done on Wednesday that he opted not to disclose.
Evans, who is the director of corruption prevention, stakeholder engagement, and anti-corruption strategy at the IC, was shot in the car park near the agency’s offices on September 21, 2023, after men on a motorcycle accosted him and stole his briefcase.
Following the shooting, Bailey said he had assigned a senior investigator from the Criminal Investigation Branch to probe the incident.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in condemning the incident, described the attack as shocking and appalling.
“The Government has full confidence in the law enforcement agencies’ ability to swiftly investigate this matter and bring those responsible to justice. We urge the public to cooperate with the authorities in their efforts to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation,” he said at the time.