Police ranks can moonlight – Ramnarine

Regent Street crash

…permission must be granted

Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine has noted that Police ranks are not prevented from working outside the Guyana Police Force while off-duty, but stressed that permission must be sought before doing so.

The comments came in light of the horrific accident at Regent Street involving a minibus driven by an off-duty Policeman.

The acting Commissioner opined that such second jobs must be lawful.

“For a Policeman to engage in lawful activities with a view to earn other than that salary which he is receiving officially, he’s got to have permission from the Commissioner of Police and prior to that permission, there is a process by which he has to engage,” Ramnarine expressed.

The acting Police Chief added that the Force can refuse such requests.

“Because of the nature of law enforcement… we have never given wholesale permission for members of the Force to be engaged in other activities other than law enforcement, it has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” he observed.

He further explained that a Policeman was on duty 24 hours a day and pointed out officers engaging in secondary employment could result in a conflict of interest.

“We don’t want to deny any member of the Force who wants to [supplement] his salary by legitimate means, but where minibus driving is concerned, we have had ugly instances of Policemen breaching the rules of the road and people are complaining,” he noted.

The acting Police Commissioner explained that the Force has been increasing the number of minibuses in its complement. In this regard, he pointed out that ranks would need a regular minibus licence before operating such vehicles, which predicated the increase of Police Officers driving the buses during their off-duty periods.

Policeman Timothy Horatio, 26, was recently remanded to prison on a causing death by dangerous driving charge. It is alleged that on August 27, at Regent Street, Horatio drove minibus BTT 7994 in a dangerous manner, thereby causing the death of 21-year-old Campbellville resident Dillon Linton.

Reports are that Horatio was allegedly “drag racing” with the ill-fated minibus and was attempting to overtake another minibus when he collided with a motorcycle, causing his vehicle to topple several times before it crashed into a utility pole. (Shemuel Fanfair)