00:00Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander responds to accusations of secretly meeting with incarcerated alleged gang leaders to assist in launching his political career.
00:12Today, Minister Alexander is outrightly rejecting those claims.
00:17This is the first time I'm hearing of this here.
00:20This is the first time you're hearing about these allegations?
00:22Marlon, I have received no documents. Let me tell you this. I have received no documents with respect to that.
00:27What I have in my possession is what a member of the media sent to me.
00:33You see? I await.
00:37But however, those allegations, Mr. Kinsley, is as far away from the truth as humanly possible.
00:44Alexander also dismisses claims made by the attorney for now detained prison supervisor, Garth Gwada,
00:51that he was targeted after he reported Alexander's alleged clandestine meetings with inmates to senior prison and police officials.
01:01If you see what clandestine means, it means that you are in some kind of covert situation.
01:07How it could be covert operations when we applied to the commissioner,
01:12the commissioner would have communicated with the prison commissioner and that's how the dialogue took place.
01:17And there was a senior police officer there. I was not the senior police officer.
01:22At all times, Mr. Alexander?
01:24Only once I went.
01:25Because they speak about a series of meetings.
01:28That is why the attorney, that is why it has reached this level where there would be legal action.
01:33Minister Alexander maintains there is nothing unusual or improper about a police officer meeting with anyone,
01:41including incarcerated individuals.
01:44He explains that it is standard procedure for officers to interview persons,
01:49whether behind bars or not, when gathering information on criminal activity.
01:54The minister suggests, however, that other factors may be at play in these allegations.
01:59It is the first time in the history of Toronto, I saw members of the government, well, the opposition,
02:09making claims about visiting prisoner at the cell or at the jail.
02:16This is, this is, something is wrong with this.
02:18So this is a common practice.
02:19Mr. Hopkinson, a police officer can interview anybody who he believed that useful information could be obtained.
02:26How, how, how, how, how does that, but then again, the rats among rattlesnakes.
02:35The opposition People's National Movement has called for a full probe into the alleged meetings.
02:41Meanwhile, Minister Alexander has assembled his legal team and warns that he will be pursuing litigation in response to the allegations.
02:50Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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