Police chief forced to defend state of stables

The Police Commissioner yesterday slammed the officer who let a cameraman into the police stables to shoot footage that has gone viral, showing the place in shambles.

Insisting that the footage was taken four months ago, when maintenance work on the stables in Marsa was underway, Commissioner John Rizzo said he was trying to find out who had let in unauthorised people.

“I am disappointed that it was one of our own police officers who let in journalists... The officer who did this should be ashamed of himself,” he said when he met the press at the stables to show them their current state.

The video was aired on One TV’s TX on Wednesday but went viral on the internet overnight, stirring heavy criticism by yesterday morning.

The current affairs programme footage shows a dilapidated complex of stables allegedly infested with rats that litter the place with droppings.

In the footage, the reporter claims that officers at the stables have complained to the police force after some of them even landed in hospital due to flea bites.

The footage also shows displaced tiles, a dirty cooker, old electric switches and cracked walls and slabs.

But what seems to have sent animal lovers in a frenzy are shots of an aged mare, its ribs protruding, struggling to stand up straight.

Commissioner Rizzo said the mare had since been put down. He said the Police Force was, according to law, not obliged to put down retired animals unless authorised by a vet.

Saida was more than 22 years old when she was put down on July 2. She was not malnourished or maltreated and her appearance was caused by ageing, said vet James Azzopardi, who attended the conference.

Retired horses were kept at the force’s stables as they were considered to be “colleagues” and were not put down so long as they could eat, drink and stand, he said.

The stables are inhabited by 19 horses, one a 33-year-old that will be put down.

“The rest of the horses have been certified to be in good condition,” the Commissioner said.

He admitted shock when he saw the video.

“The place had gone through a general refurbishment in 2002,” he said, adding that he had immediately investigated and found the video had been shot four months ago during maintenance works.

Tiles had been removed and fans were not in their place precisely because of the works, Mr Rizzo said.

Asked why the place had been allowed to degenerate, he said the police had various structures to maintain and he had never personally received complaints from officers working there.

Asked about the rats, he said the rat in the footage was actually climbing a wall adjacent to the stables heading towards a trap. Pest control was carried out periodically.

Myriam Kirmond, from the Animal Rights Coalition, accused the Commissioner of failing to show respect towards the police officers and the horses.

“The footage stunned us. The building is dangerous and has to be refurbished immediately. An eye should be kept on the welfare of both the horses and the officers.

“Immediate attention also needs to be paid to the rat infestation. They should get rid of them especially because horses are scared of rats,” she said.