Assistant Police Commissioner and current Head of the Presidential Guard Unit today told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the 2020 Elections that he was stripped of his responsibility for Regional Division Four as a result of his efforts to safeguard the Region Four Statements of Poll (SOPs) and other election related documents at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre at Ashmins Building.

“I received a letter from Deputy Commissioner Williams, but he said to me first that the Commissioner was not pleased with my performance…and he gave me a letter…The letter clearly stated that I am not longer in command of Region Division Four,” he told the Commission while responding to questions by Senior Counsel Sophia Chote and the Justice (Ret’d) Stanley John Commission.

The Assistant Police Commissioner made the damning allegation even as he accused senior members of the Guyana Police Force, including then Commissioner of Police, Leslie James and then Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers of breaching Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) when pandemonium broke out at the Ashmins Building on the 5^th March.

Mr Thomas told the Commission that hours after the police responded to a bomb scare at GECOM’s Command Centre , he received a call from his deputy, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore, informing him that the Deputy Chief Election Officer had indicated that a “very important announcement” would be made later that day, and that additional police ranks were required.

Mr Thomas said upon arriving at Ashmins Building, he received information that the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo had declared the results for District Four. At the time, three Elections Commissioners were present – the late Bibi Shaddick, Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn, and a number of police officers, who on the instructions of Mr Azore, were barring election and other officials from entering the building even as the DCEO, according to Thomas, was “evicting” persons.  

“It started off with Ms Roxanne Myers, [she] was up on the upper floor, or the first floor from the ground floor…shouting in an aggressive manner,” Mr Thomas said while explaining that the DCEO, without any explanation, was demanding that everyone leave the premises.

He said it was then that Commissioner Gunraj expressed the need to have the SOPs and other election related materials secured.

According to Assistant Police Commissioner, Mr Gunraj had expressed similar concerns to the DCEO but she was more interested “in getting people out of the building.”

Mr Thomas further contended that the DCEO then called Deputy Commissioner, Maxine Graham to complain that he (Thomas) was not complying with her instructions.

 The Assistant Police Commissioner said before he knew it, eight Special Branch Officers, turned up at the Ashmins Building. According to him, upon seeing the special branch officers, he attempted to evict them.  

It was explained that the Special Branch Officers are usually involved in covert operations or the provision of VIP security services, and as such there was no need for them to be there. At the time Deputy Commissioner Nigel Hoppie was in charge of the Special Branch.

“In my own opinion after this issue with Ms Roxanne Myers, it is my humble opinion that they were in support of her and Mr Hoppie would have known that they are there. That’s why I didn’t contact him,” Mr Thomas said as he responded to question from the chair as to his reason for not consulting Mr Hoppie on the matter.

He said the special branch officers, nonetheless, went into the building.

“Immediately, they started to conceal themselves in the building, out of sight. They entered the building and went to the top floor in the presence of Ms Myers,” he said, noting that at no time did the DCEO asked them to leave.

Mr Thomas said he then received two phone calls from the Commissioner of Police, who instructed him to have the building cleared, but according to him, he did not comply.

“We had several discussions but I did not comply with that,” Mr Thomas said.

“I indicated to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Leslie James that we have an issue with the security of the Statements of Poll and other election related materials…[but] he was forcing his point that they [everyone except the special branch officer] must vacate the building,” he explained.

According to him, when instructed a second time to have the building cleared, he simply did not comply.

Mr Thomas claimed that within minutes Deputy Superintendent Clifton Davis and Assistant Superintendent Ali from the Tactical Services Unit arrived at the Command Centre.

“They were telling persons in the building to get out the building,” he claimed.

He told the Commissioners that the presence of the TSU ranks was a clear breach of standard procedures, and that could only have been there on the instructions of the Police Commissioner.

He said 15 fully armed TSU ranks later came in support of Mr Davis and Mr Ali.

Mr Thomas said after being repeatedly bypassed, he indicated to his superior that he was leaving the area. He said within days he was reassigned. 

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