00:00Commissioner Guevara has taken a few days of emergency leave and police sources said that it is likely that he
00:06has left the country.
00:07Currently, DCP Benjamin holds the most senior rank of the executive of the service and as a result, he will
00:14be overseeing its operationality in the interim.
00:17Speaking with TV6 this evening, Benjamin said he had not yet received any official letters of appointment to the role
00:24of acting commissioner.
00:25However, he noted the public conversation on the issue and explained that the current situation surrounding the appointment of an
00:33acting commissioner of police would not affect the day-to-day administration or leadership of the service.
00:39He said that under the appointment process, the Police Service Commission would submit its choice from the executive of the
00:47service to the president, who would then send the nomination to Parliament.
00:50Parliament would then deal with the appointment before the matter was returned to the service commission for the appointment to
00:57be made.
00:57However, Benjamin noted that Parliament was not currently active, raising questions about how the process could proceed at this time.
01:06He said this did not prevent the TTPS from continuing to operate according to established protocols.
01:12Benjamin said the service had operated under similar circumstances on previous occasions and that this had not created problems.
01:20Quote, there's no problems in terms of proper administration and leadership at the TTPS at this time.
01:28End quote.
01:28He said the TTPS would continue to function while the formal appointment process was completed.
01:35On Saturday, Opposition PNM Chairman Marvin Gonzalez questioned the whereabouts of substantive Police Commissioner Alistair Guevaro and whether an acting
01:45commissioner had been formally appointed.
01:47Following the PNM's general counsel meeting at Balizé House in Porto, Spain, Gonzalez called on Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander
01:56and Prime Minister Kamala-Passad-Bissessa, who chairs the National Security Council, to explain the situation.
02:03Gonzalez also claimed he had received information that Guevaro had left the country and questioned whether the Police Service Commission
02:10had appointed an acting commissioner to perform the duties of the substantive office during his absence.
02:16Benjamin, who previously acted as commissioner in October 2025, had previously assumed the duties of commissioner while Erla Harewood-Christopher
02:27and McDonnell Jacob were substantive commissioners.
02:30On Sunday, he said such arrangements were not unusual or foreign to the TTPS, but added that he wanted to
02:38be careful about what he said ahead of today's meeting.
02:42On Sunday, we'll see you next time.
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