Commissioner of Police (ag.) Clifton Hicken and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum both insisted on Thursday that the damning allegations made by Police Sergeant Dion Bascom are untrue and malicious.
Blanhum, during a press conference held at the Police Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown, shared tidbits of the ongoing investigations into the claims made by Bascom.
Referencing a few specific allegations, Blanhum proceeded to debunk them including claims of a cover-up made by the aggrieved Police Sergeant in the investigation into the murder of Ricardo Fagundes.
The Crime Chief also related that the Police Sergeant was falsely concocting information when he claimed that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) could use a device to track the calls of one of the murder suspects using a laptop. He said that the force has no such technology.
Blanhum pointed out that Bascom has not produced any evidence to support these allegations.
“Dion Bascom is not being honest and is manufacturing false or concocted information out of malice against members of the Guyana Police Force,” Blanhum said pointedly.
In an effort to quell public concern, the Crime Chief also highlighted that the GPF is currently being assisted by an internationally recognised law enforcement agency in conducting the Fagundes murder probe.
Items recovered from the crime scene were also sent overseas for analysis.
Meanwhile, the Top Cop reasoned that the allegations made by Bascom brought the Police Force into disrepute. As such, it was necessary to ventilate the matter at the press conference.
Since Bascom is a Police Sergeant, Hicken said that members of the public may be inclined to believe his allegations. Taking the stance that these allegations are not true, Hicken underscored that the Force is now trying to rebuild public trust.
Importantly, Hicken alluded to pending disciplinary action for Bascom including for his false allegations and the “unbecoming” behaviour displayed by the Sergeant during his virtual rants.
“There is a disciplinary process to deal with that behaviour,” Hicken said but noted that the Force is awaiting advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The GPF’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) completed its investigation into the damning allegations made on social media by Bascom.
And on Tuesday night, a statement from Hicken noted that the OPR has since submitted its findings and recommendations to the DPP for legal advice.
Hicken also described Bascom’s allegations as “wholly unsubstantiated.”
Bascom, 33, was among five persons arrested on August 8 by ranks of the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) after three pounds of cocaine were found in a Norton Street, Georgetown, residence.
Though arrested, Bascom was not charged and was released by CANU but he went live on his Facebook page and made several damning allegations of corruption against the hierarchy of the Police Force as it relates to Fagundes’ murder.
Fagundes, a popular gold dealer and biker, was riddled with bullets on March 21, 2021, on Main Street, Georgetown, moments after he exited a nightclub on Main Street, Georgetown.
Bascom has since deleted the live video over fears about his family’s life.
