Appointment of T&T Police Service Commission head revoked

(Trinidad Express) President George Maxwell Richards revoked the appointment of Police Service Commission (PSC) chairman Nizam Mohammed, this morning. This came after almost two weeks of public outcry and criticism over a statement made by Mohammed at a Joint Select Committee (JSC) hearing in Parliament two Fridays ago.

During his appearance before the JSC, Mohammed said there was an ethnic imbalance within the Police Service, especially at the executive level. He said its composition did not accurately reflect the percentage of East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago’s population, and that he intended to correct the imbalance with the assistance of Parliament.

However, Mohammed’s statement was denounced by both Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, while three of his fellow commissioners – attorney Martin George, Kenneth Parker and Jacqueline Cheeseman – distanced themselves immediately, saying they did not agree with the chairman’s position.