RETIRED ACP Totaram Dookhie has submitted an additional affidavit in his lawsuit against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General, which accuses a former senior officer of abuse of power and exerting undue influence during his tenure from August 2018 to August 2021.
Dookhie’s affidavit was filed on April 8 and refers to station diary extracts in June 2019, relating to a prisoner at the Four Roads police station who alleged he was assaulted and threatened. The prisoner, Cecil Skeete, who was shot dead in 2019, recanted his story, denying the incident ever happened.
Dookhie’s lawsuit alleges victimisation, abuse of power, and constitutional breaches during his tenure with the police service.
He said there were attempts to derail major investigations into government officials and senior police officers.
Dookhie, 63, who served for 41 years before retiring in 2021, claims he was unfairly targeted after leading high-profile investigations, including those involving senior police officers and government officials.
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Dookhie’s claim was filed on March 21 and details the investigations he claims there were attempts to stymy them. It also contends that he was forcibly placed on vacation leave, transferred without cause, and subjected to baseless disciplinary allegations that harmed his career and reputation.
Dookhie alleges that while leading the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB), he pursued investigations into corruption, firearm licensing irregularities, and misconduct within the police service. His lawsuit contends one particular probe led to immediate pushback, including attempts to stall or reassign his cases.
Dookhie claims he was later pressured, removed from his role, and his investigative files were reassigned.
His recently filed affidavit, he said, is a continuation of his duty of disclosure to the court. In it, he says he wrote to then DCP Erla Harewood-Christopher in July 2021, for full copies of the police reports of the allegations made against him and reasons for the delays in laying charges.
Dookhie referred to a police service retreat in November 2019, at which a restructuring plan was presented. He was initially identified to lead the White-Collar Crime Division. However, a memorandum dated November 21, 2019, revealed that another ACP was assigned the role instead, which Dookhie said was done without notice or justification. He said he felt blindsided and victimised by the decision.
He went on to give further information on misconduct allegations made by Skeete and included a series of station diary extracts on Skeete’s detention as supporting documents.
Dookhie concluded by stating that he would continue efforts to obtain documents and corroborating witnesses, particularly other officers from the PSB who may have faced similar abuse and victimisation.
