(Trinidad Express) Com-missioner of Police (CoP) Dr Dwayne Gibbs on Tuesday said he was not pressured by National Security Minister Jack Warner or anyone to resign and has done it of his own volition.
His successor was announced on Tuesday by the Police Service Commission (PSC) as local Deputy Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, who will act as Commissioner of Police until the end of January next year.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Monday announced the resignations of Canada-born Gibbs and Deputy Commissioner Jack Ewatski.
She said both men tendered their resignation letters, dated July 26, 2012, to the PSC. The resignations will take effect on August 7.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, questions on social networking sites and blogs focussed on whether Government had moved to buy out the contracts of the foreign top cops, or whether they were pressured by Warner to throw in the towel.
In a brief telephone interview with the Express yesterday, Gibbs addressed these questions, saying the decision to quit was his own.
Questioned as to what was the driving force behind the resignations, Gibbs responded that he had “personal reasons”.
Pressed as to whether he was pressured by Warner or asked to resign, he said “No, this was a personal decision.”
Asked whether he and Ewatski would be returning to Canada after August 7, he replied, “Yes, more than likely that will be the case.”
Questioned further on whether he was satisfied with the work he and Ewatski had done since they arrived here in September 2010, Gibbs said, “Certainly, we accomplished a fair amount of work, certainly not everything we would have wanted, but we achieved a lot.”
Both Gibbs and Ewatski had faced tremendous criticism, as the crime rate continued to escalate under their watch.
Asked if he had any regrets coming to Trinidad and Tobago, Gibbs responded, “No regrets, none whatsoever. I am disappointed that we did not get to finish the work which we wanted to complete.”
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, who is currently in
