The notorious era of convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan and his ‘Phantom Squad’ did “terrible damage” to the image of the Guyana Police Force as many former and serving policemen were part of the gang, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe who said, though, that he had no intimate knowledge of the activities of the gang members.
Slowe, who is to proceed on two months pre-retirement leave shortly, in an interview with this newspaper, said that integrity is very important and that law enforcement officers cannot make laws but enforce the existing laws and while it may sometimes be felt that the system is not adequate that is the system that they must operate in.
“From the time you go outside of that system anarchy will reign. You cannot get to the state where you are going to break the law – you are going to commit crime to solve crime,” Slowe told Stabroek News. “It can’t work and I know the involvement of some ranks in illegal activities, not only in the Phantom squad, other illegal activities, has damaged the image of the force. I don’t think it is irreparable, it can be repaired but it would take a lot to get it back to what it used to be.”
Khan and his gang are suspected to have been responsible for a number of murders and information from his court case and that of his former lawyer Robert Simels in the New York courts indicated that he was close to persons in the government who sanctioned his illegal activities. However, the Guyana government has strongly denied the allegations by the drug kingpin who is serving a 15-year sentence.
According to Slowe, his ranks would inform him when a name is mentioned “that is a Phantom man or is that is a man with association with Phantom but to be very truthful I never had any intimate knowledge.” He said he was once told that persons associated with the shadowy group said he was one of the few officers they couldn’t “get at and I just say it will remain that way”.
He said when he came to Georgetown as commander in 2004 he heard rumours “but I did what I was required to do I never had any open confirmation. There were incidents, shootings, because I was the commander when [activist Ronald] Waddell was killed… I would hear certain things.”
The retiring officer said Khan was pointed out once or twice to him and he knew policemen who were associated with the group. Some of them once worked with him, but when he became aware they were no longer members of the force, while others were being processed to be dismissed since they had absented themselves from the force.
He said he was “troubled because you always feel that when members of the force are on the wrong side of the law it presents a different challenge. Because you are talking about people who are aware of the system and in many cases who can bluff the junior rank out there and therefore that was always of concern.”
Slowe said while he was stationed in Berbice, as a senior police officer, “when you come to meeting you would hear things.” You would hear about Phantom squad…, I heard names being mentioned. But it did not impact on my command so I therefore I wasn’t too concerned.”
Police reform
Slowe, who has a great desire to see the image of the force improve, said many years ago when the police reform started under former Commissioner Winston Felix he was identified to be the “change manager”. One of his recommendations was for a few officers to be offered the option of moving out of the system.
“Because I didn’t think if they had remained in the system that we were going to be able to make the type of changes that would have been able to turn the system around in quick time.”
His recommendation was not acted on, he said, as he became sidelined in the process but remains convinced that if “you want to make a dramatic change in the force some people who are known to be abusers, who are known to be people who do not project the right image… will have to [go].
He added that “getting rid of them” did not mean the persons would be denied their benefits; they would be given same and asked to move on as they would not be able to fit into a new system.
While the reform process saw some changes Slowe said he did not think that they were “as dramatic” as had been anticipated and no one was ever let go.
Politics
Meanwhile, Slowe said he got his first taste of politics during the October 5, 1992 elections when policemen were forced to take action against rioters on the streets of Georgetown and were later criticized even though they acted within the confines of the law.
He said during the elections he was head of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) when riots broke out on the streets of Georgetown and he said he detected then some reluctance of the part of senior officers to give instructions for the police to deal with the situation in the manner they were trained.
He said he was in Regent Street and observed persons looting and later went to his commander and informed him that he wanted to be on record that he was advising that the TSU should go out on the streets and do its job to make sure that order was restored.
“Eventually after standing up and more or less demanding that actions be taken I was given the go ahead and more or less we were able to restore order because we were trained to do that.”
He said had they not taken action “things would have been totally different.”
The criticisms did not bother Slowe as he did what was needed to be done and within the law. It was during that period that he was “paid one of the greatest compliments” by now retired Major General Joe Singh who was at the helm of the army at that time. One day, he said, Major General Singh was passing in a vehicle when he stopped and asked who was in charge of the ranks on the streets. When he identified himself, Slowe said, Singh said, “Oh you are in charge? Look I am going back to base I need not worry.” Slowe said it was a compliment as Singh felt he was competent to deal with the situation.
In 1997, he said, he was accused of taking directives from politicians when he again had to lead a team of officers to deal with persons on the streets.
He recalled the standoff between police and protestors in front of the Guyana Elections Commission, which lasted almost the entire day. It was after missiles thrown by members of the crowd injured a young rank that the police took action, he said.
“I saw a young policeman lying on the ground bleeding and at that stage I decided that we were going to take action and make sure that this thing was brought under control.”
This decision saw him being maligned and accused of taking orders to “shoot at people but not on a single occasion [did] I receive any orders. I acted within the law,” he said.
Then there was the incident involving former home minister Ronald Gajraj in 2003 when he refused to carry out an order that was unlawful. Slowe said it was then realized that he was not a person who would carry out unlawful and illegal orders from anyone. “I will do the things that I was trained to do and I will do the things that I know to be right and correct.”
He said the Gajraj incident may have cost him his upward mobility in the force, but it improved his image. “I say to my colleagues, if I had employed a public relations specialist to improve my image he could not have done a better job than was done as a result of that incident.”
‘Aggressive by nature’
On a lighter note, Slowe said he is aware of the perception of some that he is arrogant, but that is not the case. According to him, while he is the “nicest person” he is “aggressive by nature even in the way I speak. That is the way I am.
“But there is a side of me that I think people do not know. People who associate closely with me will know… Perhaps I am one of the nicest persons. Tantalize? I am one of the most humorous persons; the officers know that.”
He said that what persons saw as arrogance is “the way I have trained myself to keep away from certain things and certain people… to make sure that I am not caught up with all the nonsense out there.
“I am not an easy person to make friends with. I select my friends very, very carefully especially in the light of all that is going on.”
As to his future plans, Slowe said he plans to relax during his leave and conduct some disciplinary enquiries involving ranks; just do some of the things he has not been able to do. There have been some job offers, he said, but after the vacation he will have to join his family in the US; his wife and his two adult sons.
