Police inspector facing disciplinary procedures files judicial protest after being denied inquiry report

A police inspector facing discipinary proceedings over the bungle that saw Iosif Galea travel out of Malta despite having a European Arrest Warrant to his name, is asking to see the full report of the investigation

A police inspector has filed a judicial protest after disciplinary proceedings against him started despite not being given a copy of the report that identified shortcomings in the handling of a European Arrest Warrant
A police inspector has filed a judicial protest after disciplinary proceedings against him started despite not being given a copy of the report that identified shortcomings in the handling of a European Arrest Warrant

A police inspector facing disciplinary proceedings following an investigation by the Police Complaints Board into how a gaming consultant was allowed to travel despite a European Arrest Warrant issued against him, is yet to be shown the Board’s full report.

A judicial protest filed on the inspector's behalf by lawyer David Bonello states that the inspector, who was in charge of the Sirene Bureau (which handles the administration of EAWs) at the time of Iosif Galea’s jaunt overseas, has only been given a copy of the report’s conclusions, which had also been disseminated to the media.

Despite the fact that those same conclusions did not identify the two individuals who were found to bear administrative responsibility, other than to mention that they were “officers,” the lawyer said that internal disciplinary proceedings against his client were now underway.

Stating that the inspector’s numerous requests for a full copy of the report by the Police Complaints Board had been ignored, Bonello asked the Commissioner of Police to cease and desist from taking the internal proceedings any further before the inspector is given a full copy of the report.

The inspector had a right to be given a full copy, said the lawyer, “because he believes that before the Commissioner of Police asked the Independent Police Complaints Board to investigate, he had already carried out a full internal investigation and assured himself that the Commissioner and his few close colleagues could escape administrative responsibility.”

Bonello said his client found it “very interesting” that the media had zeroed in on two police inspectors, one of them being the plaintiff, when the published conclusions only indicate unnamed “officials” and made no reference to their responsibilities. This raised serious concerns, the lawyer said, because it was only the Commissioner who had a full copy of this report.