Commander reverted to desk duty at Police HQ

Sep 28, 2011 News

Police Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud will soon be relieved of command of the West Demerara Division and reassigned to Headquarters, Eve Leary.
Persaud, who was assisting police in their investigations into the fatal shooting of drug rehabilitation counsellor Ralph Turpin by a junior rank, will be assigned to the Department of Development.

Balram Persaud

The department is virtually defunct and is considered a place for senior officers who have fallen out of favour with the Force’s hierarchy and is considered as ‘desk duty’.
Controversial Assistant Commissioner Steve Merai spent six years there before his appointment as commander of the Berbice Division.
Kaieteur News understands that although Persaud , who was charged for treason under the Desmond Hoyte administration and later released under the new government, was being investigated by the Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the decision to relieve him of the Divisional Command was made by authorities outside of the Force.
According to a source, the move is linked to the Turpin incident two weeks ago. Several previous controversies may also have been taken into consideration.
Persaud was also involved in an incident in which several revelers were shot during a confrontation with the police at Windsor Forest last Easter Monday.
However, he is also credited with making West Demerara one of the least crime-prone divisions in the country.
Persaud reportedly admitted to being at the scene of the fatal shooting of Turpin, but claimed that he was not aware of what was actually transpiring.
Eyewitnesses had claimed though that he was in company with the person who did the shooting.
Lance Corporal Sherwin Smith, who was also stationed on the West Coast of Demerara, has since been charged with Turpin’s murder.
A senior police official told this newspaper that Assistant Commissioner Persaud did not immediately report the incident but did so only when he was approached to give a statement.

Brian Joseph

Persaud, who underwent heart complications surgery just a few years ago, is expected to take up his new appointment on October 1.
His replacement will be Senior Superintendent Brian Joseph, who is presently the Commander of the Police ‘G’ Division (Essequibo Coast), while Superintendent Paul Williams will remain as Deputy Commander.
Superintendent Stephen Mansell from the police narcotics section will take up the position as Commander in Essequibo.