Police inspector in Sheehan incident out on forced leave

A police inspector who featured in a police line-up of suspects who attempted to take an eyewitness’s mobile phone footage of the Sheehan shooting incident, is on forced leave.

MaltaToday understands that Inspector Gabriel Micallef, whose sister is the partner of police constable Paul Sheehan, is out on forced leave pending an investigation into the shooting incident of 19 November.

Sheehan – who was home affairs minister Manuel Mallia’s ministerial driver – stands charged with the attempted murder of Scotsman Stephen Smith after shooting at his car twice, when it was alleged that Smith hit the stationary government vehicle before driving off, under the influence of alcohol.

According to the witnesses, a mother and a daughter, they were approached by an unidentified man who asked them to hand over footage of the argument between Sheehan and Smith, which took place on Edgar Bernard Street, Gzira.

Gabriel Micallef was included in a line-up of police officers suspected of tampering with the evidence relating to the incident. The witnesses were unable to positively identify the man who approached them, and picked two individuals from the line-up.

Micallef was present on the site of the incident in the Tal-Qroqq tunnels – where the chases ended – when a police low-loader arrived to take the Scotsman’s car. Police are also investigating who gave the order to load the car before the arrival of the inquiring magistrate.

MaltaToday is also informed that a police sergeant and a constable are now being investigated over the deletion of details in the report of Smith’s arrest, which included the result of the breathalyser test he took.

Police sources alleged that the two officers admitted to having accidentally deleted the information from the Police Incident Reporting System, in an attempt at copying the details to leak to a newspaper [not MaltaToday].

The internal investigation, being led by Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit, is still ongoing.

After his arrest, Smith refused to undergo a breathalyser test at the St Julian’s police station. He was then taken to the Msida police station where, in the presence of the inquiring magistrate and a court expert, he agreed to take the test.
The test revealed that Smith had three times the level of alcohol in the blood than allowed by law. The content registered was of 109mg/dl, compared to the 32mg/dl legal limit.

MaltaToday understands that an original printout of the initial arrest report exists and is in the hands of the force’s highest officials.

An independent inquiry led by retired judge Albert Magri has also been tasked with establishing the facts surrounding allegations of a cover-up on the shooting incident heard a number of witnesses. The Opposition has repeatedly claimed that a cover-up was underway on the night that the government claimed that security driver Paul Sheehan fired two “warning shots” in the air, and has put pressure on Joseph Muscat to sack his minister.