ComPol Whylie to Valdez and Senate: ‘It Wasn’t Me’

Allen Whylie

The only man above Valdez, indeed above all officers in the Police Department, is Commissioner Allen Whylie. Appointed in 2013, he was previously C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Security, and later Defence and Immigration when it was split between 2010 and 2012. Appearing this afternoon, he was confronted with Valdez’s testimony and staunchly maintained that he gave no such order and instruction – in fact, it was the very opposite, as after a verbal briefing in the presence of another unnamed senior officer, he was told to go ahead. So did Valdez misunderstand?

Mark Lizarraga, Pro-tem Chair, Senate Special Select Committee

“Did he finish his investigation? Did you get a final report?”

Allen Whylie, Commissioner of Police

“No, I received no final report from him. As far as I am concerned, he had finished; I don’t know.”

Mark Lizarraga

“You never saw it fit to ask, to find out?”

Allen Whylie

“No, I didn’t and I purposely didn’t simply because of the fact that there was an issue in the media that someone had told him and had stopped him from investigating, and I wanted to know who had, because I knew I hadn’t.”

Mark Lizarraga

“Just for clarity, this morning he said that they didn’t stop him; they told him to continue along this line, looking at the missing files.”

Allen Whylie

“I don’t think so; it’s perhaps misinterpretation on his part, because I’m saying that it was out there in the media that he had been stopped, and I knew that in the one meeting I had with him, I hadn’t stopped him, I had encouraged him to investigate, and that can be verified by another senior officer that was with me when he visited me.”

Mark Lizarraga

“But when you heard this, ComPol, did you not see it necessary to find out who had directed him in another way?”

Allen Whylie

“And that’s what I am saying; when I heard in the media, and there was something from the D.P.P., I spoke to the Head, NCIB, and said, who had given Mr. Valdez such instructions. And he said he hadn’t, and I knew I didn’t; and so I had him bring Mr. Valdez to a meeting with me. And at that meeting, we trashed it out in terms of what and it was clear to me that Mr. Valdez felt that he had been instructed to discontinue; but I don’t see how he could have reached that conclusion any at all, because definitely in my discussion with him around the fifteenth or sixteenth of January, 2014, it was the converse, and that what I told him was in the presence of a senior officer. But I gathered from our meeting that he felt he should not pursue that line of questioning, and I told him no, no, no, no; you need to clarify this issue, because if you don’t clarify this issue, I will take action. Because as I have always said, when it comes to the police institution, it is bigger than all of us.”

Mark Lizarraga

“Did he clarify the issue?”

Allen Whylie

“Yes, he did clarify the issue; because I think he had written to the D.P.P. saying he had been directed not to investigate, and he did clarify that matter with the D.P.P.”

Mark Lizarraga

“He did?”

Allen Whylie

“He did.”