WPC Violated Police Code of Conduct During Village Council Elections
A woman police constable is in hot water tonight, following an alleged confrontation with Cayo South Area Representative Julius Espat, at the polling station in Teakettle Village on Sunday. But, the officer is not being questioned because of the verbal exchange she had with Espat during the village council elections. Instead, the officer is under investigation for reportedly breaching the police department’s code of conduct, as well as the Public Service Regulations. The allegations are that the officer showed preference to a certain political party as a public officer which is in contravention of the Public Service Regulations. Furthermore, following the alleged confrontation with Espat, W.P.C. Alicia Trapp took to her Facebook page to share information about the encounter in a live video broadcast. This is considered a violation of the department’s code of conduct. Now, the officer in question is reportedly the common-law-wife of the now unseated U.D.P. Village Council chairman. But, ComPol Williams has not taken lightly to her social media rant, nor her publicly proclaimed support for the U.D.P. during the Village Council elections. Here is a snippet of that live video and the ComPol’s response.
PC Alisa Trapp
Voice of: PC Alisa Trapp
“Well guys I am here live at the Teakettle Village Council election and my name is Alisa Trapp and I am not ashamed to say it ok. So, just because I want to cast my vote as I have right to cast my vote, whether it is red or blue, nobody can’t pick for me. I choose who I want to vote for. Now, because I go and stand there, Mr. Julius Espat came to my face and pointed in my face and tells me I cannot be (bleep) there on the UDP tent. What is wrong with this Minister ah?. He ketch feelings because of my red shirt and I don’t have a problem. This is me and I am proud wearing my color. I don’t shame of my color. This is my color and nobody can stop me because I was not born with a red shirt. So, I could wear pink, red, blue, orange, purple, any day I want, because I nuh get pay to wear no red shirt or blue shirt like how Pup do. Deh get paid.”
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Let me first and foremost say that I was sent that video footage yesterday by several persons. Having seen the live on social media, upon receiving I listened to it from start to finish, as I truly wanted to get a sense of what the issue was. Having listened to the video footage, even if we were to disregard her confrontation with the Honorable Julius Espat, as police officer we do have a code of conduct. And, we do not expect our members to be ranting and raging on social media the way she did. It certainly is a clear violation of our social media policy that is one. Secondly, under the Public Service Regulations, it clearly stipulates that members or public officers are not supposed to engage in any political activity or perhaps, to show they to be preference to certain political party. And as much as she tried in the live to make it seem that she was out there as an independent minded voter, and it’s just a matter of coincidence that she was wearing a red shirt. In that same live she did, she made mention to the fact that Alberto August was standing there with our posters. , she said our posters. And, it turned out that those posters that Alberto August had are UDP posters. So she automatically aligned herself with a political party, while she was out there, which again goes against our regulations. Everybody knows the Honorable Espat to be a political, if you want to call it, a political animal, not in abad way. So, if it is that you put yourself in the political arena, you must take what comes to you. Yo can’t get eena pig pen and nuh expect fih get muddy, simply that”
