By Amin Kef Sesay
This medium was extremely shocked to learn that the Crime Officer of the Bo East Police Station, one ASP Titus Vandy, blatantly and rudely disregarded directives from his superiors in Freetown during the course of discharging his duties as well as making certain sarcastic remarks.
ASP Vandy said he doesn’t give a damn about the Inspector General of Police. He made that unfortunate statement after failing to heed to an order by a Freetown Magistrate Court over an ongoing investigation related to a matter regarding a stolen vehicle he is handling.
On October 7, journalist, Murtala Mohamed Kamara, reported that his vehicle had been stolen. His driver, who was driving the vehicle,claimed he went to urinate when the vehicle disappeared. The driver was later arrested and charged to court as a suspect.
A few days later, Kamara was informed that his vehicle had been located in Bo. The journalist informed the LUC of Congo Cross Police station, Commissioner J.K Alpha, where the case had been reported.
Commissioner Alpha later called the Crime Officer in Bo in the presence of Kamara. Commissioner Alpha told the Crime Officer that Kamara is the owner of the vehicle and that he would be coming to Bo with the particulars of the car to collect it. The Congo Cross Police Chief asked the officer to help the journalist get his vehicle back.
Kamara travelled to Bo with the life card of his vehicle, which he presented to the Crime Officer and he was asked to make a statement at the station and present photocopies his relevant documents, all which he did.
The Crime Officer later told him that he would not hand over the vehicle to him on the basis that the guy who abandoned the vehicle in Bo had stolen a motorbike.
Interestingly, though, the Prosecutor for the motorbike case respectfully asked the Crime Officer to hand over the vehicle to the journalist since the latter had recorded a statement and presented documents to the Police maintaining that there was no reason to hold the vehicle.
Commissioner Alpha of the Congo Cross Police Station later dispatched one of his finest Inspectors to Bo with an order to secure the release of the vehicle. Still, the Crime Officer in Bo refused to hand over the car. The officer said he would not take orders from Commissioner Alpha.
When Kamara contacted him on the phone to find out why he is disregarding orders from the Police, the Crime Officer said if the journalist likes he could go to the Inspector General of Police, not a ‘small’ LUC.
Several efforts to get the vehicle from the Crime Officer have all proven futile.
ASP Vandi said he has packed the car now as evidence for the stolen motorbike and Kamara should now go to court if he wants his vehicle.
So far climaxing this interesting episode is when the Magistrate of Court Number 3 in Freetown, which is dealing with the stolen vehicle case, sent a subpoena to Bo for the vehicle to be released but the Crime Officer is still obdurate in doing.
