The Police Commissioner has ordered an internal inquiry to establish what led investigators to wrongly charge a man.
Peter Paul Zammit said he has given the inquiry board two weeks to draw up a report on the mistake made by police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department.
The CID officers wrongly charged Darryl Borg with a Birkirkara hold-up, a mistake that came to light two days later when Inspector Elton Taliana from the district police charged another man. Mr Borg spent two days in custody as a result of the mistake.
“I want to avoid such mistakes happening but from experience it is difficult to eliminate all mistakes – by using more caution and better communication we can reduce this possibility,” Mr Zammit said, adding he would make the findings public to put people’s minds at rest.
I never allow politics to interfere with my work. Politics is anathema to my work- Police Commissioner
An investigation by the Police Board, a watchdog, pinned most of the blame on Inspector Taliana for failing to inform his superiors of his findings, which could have led to Mr Borg’s earlier release from prison.
The conclusions led to a political backlash over the weekend with Opposition leader Simon Busuttil describing the board’s findings as “a travesty of justice” and calling the Police Commissioner “a Labour activist”.
But Mr Zammit yesterday brushed off Dr Busuttil’s strong words, saying he should check his sources. “I was never an activist of any sort. What did I do to be an activist?”
Asked to comment about Dr Busuttil’s remark that the Opposition would not allow the Police Commissioner to turn the police force into a Labour Party club, Mr Zammit replied: “God forbid he allows me to do just that because I would have lost the plot. On this we are on the same wavelength.”
He also refuted criticism that Insp. Taliana, previously detailed as a security officer with former foreign affairs minister Tonio Borg, was a victim of political discrimination.
“I never allow politics to interfere with my work. You can always ask those who worked with me. Politics is anathema to my work,” Mr Zammit said, adding the criticism was unfair.
When it was put to him that the Police Board’s findings put the onus on Insp. Taliana but glossed over the original mistake made by the CID inspectors, Mr Zammit insisted this was why he ordered an internal inquiry.
“Nobody said Insp. Taliana did something bad when he charged the man who he believed committed the crime. The bad thing was that he left an innocent man behind bars. One was a mistake [the wrong arraignment], the other was intentional [Insp. Taliana’s lack of communication].”
Mr Zammit said the Police Board made this distinction clear in its findings, adding it was incorrect to leave an innocent man behind bars.
According to Insp. Taliana’s lawyer, the timeline of events shows his client’s lack of communication had little bearing on the length of time Mr Borg spent in jail because the mistake was flagged in court when the real culprit was charged.
Mr Zammit begged to differ, claiming that Insp. Taliana only lamented the miscommunication in court and did not initiate the process to have Mr Borg released.
“Had Insp. Taliana informed his superiors when he had an admission of guilt [before charging the real culprit in court] Mr Borg would have been released earlier. From the police’s end I was the one who gave orders for a court application to be filed for Mr Borg’s release the moment I saw the news report on your website [timesofmalta.com].”
Mr Zammit said Insp. Taliana was “the source” of the miscommunication he had complained about in court.
The Police Board’s findings were released on Saturday and based on its conclusions the Police Commissioner said disciplinary action would be taken against Insp. Taliana.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com