By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet Minister Shane Gibson has written to the Police Service Commission, expressing his dismay over the promotion of a police officer who was heavily criticised for her role in his bribery trial last year.

Mr Gibson was acquitted during the trial after he was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes from Jonathan Ash so the contractor could receive the outstanding government cheques for the hurricane clean-up work he did.

Last week it was announced that Debra Thompson, a key investigator in his trial, has been promoted to superintendent.

Mr Gibson wrote to the PSC after his trial requesting the body investigate Superintendent Thompson for her conduct in his case.

In his letter to the PSC, Mr Gibson says: “The decision to promote her was made even though she received condemnation by Justice Indra Charles in a ruling dated 8th March 2019 (in my constitutional application to quash the indictment against me) where Justice Charles said: ‘Unkind as it may be, ASP Thompson struck me as an officer with very little investigative skills despite her impressive rank in the RBPF. I say this because prosecution witnesses should not be brought together to discuss their evidence, exchange their account and decide as to what to say and what they should omit to say in their statements and evidence.”

He further cited facts that arose during his trial about Superintendent Thompson’s work, like the fact that she initiated a meeting between the two main prosecution witnesses to synchronise their statements.

“She admitted that in hindsight she had acted improperly in arranging the meeting to ‘clear up the ambiguities’ in each of their statements” and “she altered the original statement taken from Jonathan Ash…,” he noted.

“What makes the decision to promote Debra Thompson more egregious is that she admitted that it is common practice for two witnesses to be brought together to synchronise their stories and accounts of matters in dispute. This leads one to believe that my case is not the first time she has been involved in this unethical and unlawful practice.”

“I write to advise if Debra Thompson’s promotion is not rescinded within fourteen days of the date of this letter, I will institute proceedings before the Supreme Court for Judicial review of the decision to promote Debra Thompson and seen an order of certiorari to quash this recommendation.”

PSC Chairman Reverend Phillip Stubbs said “no comment” when asked for a response to this matter yesterday.