Ex-SWAT commander back on duty

Motie Dookie
Motie Dookie

Former Commander of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit Motie Dookie is currently on duty while his case is engaging the attention of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Police Commissioner Leslie James said yesterday.

After mounting a successful legal challenge to being sent on “Special Leave in the Public Interest” by then acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine, Dookie has returned to active duty.

However, when questioned about what Dookie’s current position is and where he is stationed, the commissioner stressed he would not offer a further comment, while noting that the PSC is investigating.

On December 31st, Dookie, who is a Deputy Superintendent of Police, was intercepted while travelling in a bus in which 30 cases of whisky were found.

The bus was stopped along the Whim Public Road, Corentyne by a police anti-crime patrol. The Deputy Superintendent indicated that ten cases of whisky were in the minibus and he was taking it to be used for a party.

At the time, he was not permitted to leave the Police Headquarters, where he was based.

Following the bust, Dookie was posted to the Police ‘A’ Division, where he served as the No. 2 Sub Divisional Officer. This was after he was asked to proceed on annual leave as the police awaited legal advice on possible charges against him in connection with the smuggling of the whisky.

He was spared criminal charges after the bus driver took full responsibility.

However, in May he was sent on special leave with full pay by Ramnarine. With that development, Dookie, through his attorney, Anil Nandlall, challenged the decision.

In September, Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln, who heard Dookie’s application for relief, granted him a writ of certiorari, quashing Ramnarine’s decision, which she declared unlawful.