Police Commissioner John Rizzo yesterday rejected allegations of police tardiness in investigating cases, calling such claims “unfair and untrue”.
The media needed to “keep things in their right context”, Mr Rizzo said, and not blow things out of proportion or capitalise on incidents to score points against the police corps.
His comments come in the wake of criticism of St Julians police for an apparent delay in investigating the case of a 17-year old assaulted in Paceville last month.
The teenager alleges that he was punched, kneed and choked by five bouncers at Shadow Lounge following an argument with a staff helper. Both the club owner and director of the company that supplies the security staff have said that the bouncers only intervened to eject the youth from the premises after he got into a fight with a staff member.
The police said on Tuesday evening they would be pressing charges against a staff helper over the coming days. The person is expected to be arraigned today.
Mr Rizzo was unequivocal in his comments. “In this case, the police corps deserves praise not criticism. Police investigations have led to charges being pressed against an individual even though the victim was unable to identify any aggressor.”
“The police took immediate action. We were there from the very first minute. Officers went to the club and took note of the bouncers’ names,” he said.
Asked why St Julians police had not requested a copy of the club’s CCTV footage, Mr Rizzo said they had checked the CCTV cameras but found that “their positioning did not frame the relevant areas” of the club.
The police said that the victim was asked to identify his aggressors on four separate occasions, including in the immediate aftermath of the incident and later, when his father confronted bouncers at the club.
However, this is contested by the teenager and his father who have said that they were never consulted by the police prior to last Sunday, when the story appeared in the press.
“My son was not asked to identify bouncers that night. He wasn’t even with me when I went to the club. I went alone. He was asked to identify bouncers when he was called to the police station last Sunday,” the father said. “He’ll never be able to identify the bouncers because when they attacked him he obviously protected his head and neck with his arms.”
The father expressed hope that the staff helper’s arraignment would lead to some bouncers being charged. “The police have said that the bouncers have been identified. I’m imagining that this arraignment will lead to them being charged.”