Charge dropped in Dixon case
(CNS): One of the two charges against Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon brought by the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) has been dropped, leaving just one count of misconduct against the senior cop. Dixon’s trial, which is still set to start on 28 September, will now focus on an incident in 2004 where he has been accused of telling a police officer to release an individual from custody who had been charged with a drunk driving offence. The senior officer has persistently denied any misconduct on his part relating to either of the charges.
These were brought following his arrest by SPIT’s Senior Investigating Officer Martin Bridger and has said he looked forward to having his day in court and clearing his name.
The news comes only one week after the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the trial against Lyndon Martin and further discrediting of Bridger’s Operation Tempura investigation, which was first seriously questioned during the judicial review for Justice Alex Henderson when the judge’s arrest by Bridger was proven to be unlawful and Sir Peter Cresswell, the judge in that case, described Bridger’s investigation as a “gross abuse of the process”.
Dixon was first arrested by SPIT based on two counts of misconduct in a public office and two counts of doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice, relating to incidents that Dixon has claimed had been widely known. The charge that has now been dropped related to an arrest on 22 June 2003, when Dixon reportedly instructed Chief Inspector Reginald Branch of the Cayman Brac Police Station that it was the policy of the police not to prosecute for illegal gambling and to release two men who had been brought in for illegal gambling, and to give them back the cash and gambling registers which had been seized.
The second charge, which still remains at present, involves Dixon reportedly directing Inspector Burmon Scott of George Town Police Station (who has filed for damages regarding his arrest in connection with this case) to release a man who was being held on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
At the time of the charges Bridger said they were “very serious” and that it was Attorney General Samuel Bulgin who had made the decision, basedon the evidence and the severity of the accusations, to bring the charges. Questions, however, still remain regarding the charges, which Bridger conceded at the time were common law offences, as to the actual legality of Dixon’s arrest.
Since that time, however, the entire Operation Tempura has been severely discredited and none of the arrests or charges linked to investigations undertaken by Bridger have stuck. Following the huge damages payout to Justice Henderson, coupled with costs of what now appears to be a failed investigation, has caused public outrage at Bridger and the Governor Stuart Jack for his persistent support of the SPIT SIO.
Category: Headline News
To all the Caymanians who have been arrested for possession of illegal lottery tickets you need to appeal your lottery conviction and get your confiscated monies back its too bad or a crying shame you did not have "contacts" you could call in the Police to get you released and get your monies back or lawyers to get your charges dropped.It is sure funny how we have some people with very short memory writing comments.
Honourable certainly should not be use lightly because many many of us good Caymanians no better.And many of us have suffered greatly at the hands of these Caymanians in powerful positions whenwe need help and now the shoe is on the other foot they come calling for support. It is said our ability to delude ourselves may be and important surival tool.
We must not delude ourselves too far or too long Cayman. all off us want a better Cayman for our children to do this we must make the right choices and put ourselves about reproach.
So far….the only charges Operation Tempura made…. that have stuck……. were for meals and hotel rooms!
ROTFL!!!! :-}
Be careful or someone will start asking who leaked such sensitive information to you.
Laugh all the way to the bank my brother, your days of fishing has just begun (smile).
Not only should the UK be paying the related charges on this Tempura ordeal but also it would appear that the current person in the seat of Attrorney General, Samuel Bulgin, has much to answer for! The news story clearly states:
"At the time of the charges Bridger said they were “very serious” and that it was Attorney General Samuel Bulgin who had made the decision, based on the evidence and the severity of the accusations, to bring the charges. Questions, however, still remain regarding the charges, which Bridger conceded at the time were common law offences, as to the actual legality of Dixon’s arrest".
Obviously his assessmentof the evidence and severity of the accusations is in question and he should be made to answer for the seemingly flawed advice that he gave. Had his advice been different no prosecution was likely to have taken place; remember he is who decides on prosecutions in the first place.
The UDP government has some decisions to make and I am trusting that they will be bold and do what is right for this country, which includes placing the right people with the right set of skills in the right positions. We can no longer afford the cost of the mistakes made by incompetent individuals who fill top positions in this country. This is not about likeablility or big-grin-ability or the smartest looking business suit – it is all about COMPETENCE!
This is so true! The Attorney General should have to answer for his actions in this too.
The PPM started all this. They should have arranged for the UK to pay for it.
What a ludicris statement! It was the Governor in his pursuit of "good governance" who started this. How about going to the Compass and checking out the past artice about the PPM refusing consent? The Governor went to the FCO to approve this mess.
CNS NOTE: Or How about looking at the CNS article instead Bridger is a liability says LoGB
Hope Burmon gets a few bucks out of this and buys himself the best guitar and keyboard on the market!
As someone aptly said, the house of cards has tumbled, and there is only one wavering card left.
So this is what we get out of Tempura — one meagre charge about waving a drunk driving charge? Is that something that we bring a police force to its knees about? Could that not have been handled administratively?
I am not saying that drunk driving is not a serious offence, but if there was such an offence it could have been investigaged internally and it could have been dealt with in another way that might have been as effective and might have sent as strong a message as taking this to trial might.
I have also been privy to the information that a past attorney general who was stopped for speeding begged the police not to give him a ticket. The police officer reluctantly acceeded.
It is so obvious that the Met Police had consistently been grasping at straws to justify their being here — and to prolong their stay as long as possible.
What a shame!
Anywhere else heads would roll.
All I have to say to that is Thou shall not bear false witness.
So lets see which Braka will get the most in damages from government, Burmon, Lyndon or Ruddy. Cayman needs to sue Jack and the FCO
UK should pay Governor’s salary.
They already do, you Thickie
"THICKIE" ???. He who feels it knows it.
Since when??
“Thickie” responds:
Emoluments of Governor:-
Section 2 of The Cayman Islands (Constitution) Order 1972, as subsequently amended, reads, “The Governor shall receive such emoluments as may be fixed by a Secretary of State, and those emoluments are hereby charged upon the revenues of the Islands.” Source: http://www.constitution.gov.ky/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/CMIHOME/RESOURCES/CAYMANSCONSTITUTION/CONSTITUTIONORDER1972AMENDED2004.PDF
The current Secretary of State is the Right Hon. Alan Johnson. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Johnson
Definition:-
“Emoluments: The amount of income you receive from your employment. This income includes your salary commissions, and benefits such as the provision of a company car, use of a mobile phone and payments of expenses, such as travelling and subsistence costs.” Source: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/tax/glossarye.html
"noun formal a salary, fee, or benefit from employment or office. ORIGIN Latin emolumentum (originally probably meaning ‘payment for grinding corn’), from molere ‘grind’." Source: http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/emolument?view=uk
can you say….. LAWSUIT?
THIS SOUND LIKE Three Piece Suite to me…………
We would have been better off throwing the 10 million that has been spent on SPIT off of a building and telling people to take what they can because at least then you might possible have something to show for it. This is one of the many many reasion that we are in the financial situation that we are in now. The UK obviously dosne’t know it ass from a hole in the ground.
Absolutely right….
"The UK obviously dosne’t know it ass from a hole in the ground."
You want to try living over here! LOL what a mess this place is in.
It is no surprise at all that the case regrding Dixon’s stance on gambling was dropped. Dixon was right – The Gambling Law is routinely ignored in the Cayman Islands and it is not policy to always prosecute. How can the police charge someone for being involved in lotteries when raffles – which are just as illegal and fall under the definition of ‘lottery’ in the gambling Law – are so common. Even the RCIP has held raffles in the past! The prosecution were right to drop this charge, I bet the defence would have loved detailing every raffle held here over the last 10 years and questioning why there was no prosecution.
The UK sent it officers here to ruin the careers of honorable Caymanians.
Now the last thing they are resting on is a witnesses account of something that happened in 2004 – 5years ago – most people can hardly remember what happened last week, much less 5 years ago.
Oh well, leave it to Mother country.
Could someone pleaselet me know what exactly it is I have to do to have some silly charges filed against me. I could use the cash.
Thanks
SPIT’s house of cards is about to topple over over completely: there is only one card now waivering in the breeze….