24/02/2024
*Revealing the real Totaram Dookie.*
To the public, please note the correspondence attached below that was submitted to the Police Complaints Authority, the Professional Standards Bureau, and the Police Service Commission surrounding the misleading statements made by Totaram Dookie in June of last year to the PSB.
1) As I stated, I was forced to reassign this individual and transfer investigations under his charge to other senior officers because he was the subject of several pending investigations. Some of the transferred investigations include that of a government Minister, an MP, and several senior police officers.
2) With regards to Cecil Skeete and allegations made against me, Dookie should know that Skeete swore an affidavit that none of the allegations made against me by those rogue officers were true, and at no time did I commit any act against him. Skeete also swore an affidavit that senior officers and other persons, including certain persons in the media, had contacted him to be part of a conspiracy, hoping that he would lie to frame me.
3) The report submitted below and the WhatsApp picture attached confirm that at no time was any file handed directly to me and in fact, it was handed over to officers not being the subject of serious police investigations
21/02/24
Mr David West
Director
Police Complaints Authority
Level 24, Tower D,
International Waterfront Center,
1A Wrightson Road,
Port of Spain.
Subject: Clarification of Misleading Report submitted to the PSB by Retired ACP Totaram Dookie.
Dear Mr. West,
I write to bring to your attention a matter of utmost importance, with regards to a report made to the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) by Retired ACP Totaram Dookie in which he made certain misleading statements which can allude to there being a deliberate attempt to prevent an investigation being conducted and completed. See document attached.
Dookie shared that before meeting with me on November 18th, 2019, the subject of one of his investigations, Wendell Lucas, came out of my office and smiled at him. Connecting that to the fact that he was being transferred from heading the PSB, and as such had to hand over certain files of investigations being conducted, it appears he attempted to insinuate conspiracy and nefarious intent.
During my tenure as Commissioner of Police, there were several serious ,major investigations pertaining to the same Mr. Dookie, which prompted my decision to reassign him from the sensitive PSB, as no Police Commissioner could have someone lead sensitive investigations whilst simultaneously having been a main subject of several other investigations at the same time . His subsequent responsibility was to review the manpower audit report and implement strategies based on his review. Unfortunately, Mr. Dookie was unable to implement any strategy or even submit one report during his year-long assignment.
This lack of progress was not surprising, considering his prior actions, such as the arrest of a sitting Minister of Government without having the basic courtesy of even informing or briefing me, as Commissioner of Police, beforehand, and being so arrogant to double down and perceive that it is appropriate that the most junior Police Constable could arrest even a Prime Minister without senior officers being made aware.
In Mr. Dookie's report to the PSB, he also mentioned that I, Gary Griffith, instructed him to hand over files pertaining to the Wendell Lucas investigation on the 18th of November 2019. Here again, the inference is some sort of conspiracy and nefarious intent, and giving the impression to some that I directed that the file be handed over directly to me
2) Contrary to this claim however, I have attached a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between myself and the head of the administrative department of the Office of the Commissioner of Police. The conversation clearly shows Mr. Dookie confirming that on the 20th of November 2019 (Two Days AFTER, he claimed he that he was directed to hand over the file), he would be meeting with DCPS and ACPs to hand over relevant files that would have been under his purview as the leading investigator. One of which was the investigation pertaining to Wendell Lucas.
To reiterate, Dookie was under investigation for very serious matters and it was felt he shouldn’t be investigating Ministers, MPs, DCPs and other senior officers, hence his transfer from the PSB.
Subsequently, at 5:07 PM on the same 20th November 2019, a forwarded message from Mr. Dookie confirmed that he, Dookie, had handed over the files to the DCPs and ACPs, which means that he could NEVER have given me the files on the 18th, two days prior.
So Dookie’s statement to the PSB in 2023 is misleading as at no time did he hand over the files to me ,as it pertained to Dookie’s one man investigation on Mr. Lucas. His statement however could have led some to believe that this was a matter that was covered up, but the truth is, no cover up took place and the matter was thoroughly investigated since 2019 by a qualified senior Officer who was not under any investigation, and obviously nothing was discovered. This is why the PolSC did not debar Lucas from applying for the post of DCP, and why they in fact placed him number one on their Merit List for DCP.
This action by Dookie must raise concerns about the accuracy and intent behind Mr. Dookie's report to the PSB, especially as it is not surprising that his report as a civilian, inclusive of virtually seeking a status update and making recommendations and conclusions regarding an investigation, submitted to the PSB in June last year, somehow gets into the hands of the media and maybe even Parliamentarians ,several months later.
It is also hoped that the PSB in fact also ascertain the status of the several investigations regarding the same Dookie, as they were near completion prior to my departure from office in the TTPS.
I bring this matter to your attention in the interest of transparency and the integrity of the Professional Standards Bureau and the TTPS in general, as it is crucial that we uphold the principles of fairness and equal justice for all.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I trust that a thorough and unbiased review will be conducted.
Sincerely,
Gary Griffith
CC: Suzette Martin - Head of the PSB
CC: Judith Jones - Chair of the PolSC
