Former Police Commissioner Rawlston Pompey has sharply criticised what he calls inaccurate media reporting of a recent court matter involving the UPP 16, arguing that the outcome has been widely misrepresented as a finding of "not guilty."
According to Antigua News Room, Pompey issued a strongly worded statement rejecting that characterisation, labelling the coverage a "kangaroo news story" and disputing the reporting surrounding the proceedings.
"The court never declared anyone 'not guilty,'" Pompey said, insisting that the defendants were instead "discharged from the court's jurisdiction." He aligned himself with the legal position put forward by attorney Charlesworth Tabor, affirming that no criminal trial was ever conducted.
Pompey argued that the prosecution failed to present evidence in chief, and that there was no opportunity for cross-examination or re-examination of witnesses. In his view, the absence of these fundamental procedural steps means the matter cannot properly be regarded as a concluded trial.
The former commissioner outlined what he described as a series of prosecutorial failures, chief among them the failure to issue witness summonses to compel attendance. He said this left prosecutors without the ability to seek bench warrants when witnesses did not appear.
Pompey also noted that the complaint — filed in the name of Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney — was ultimately dismissed by the court. He suggested the court appeared dissatisfied with the handling of the case, characterising the prosecution as operating in a "time-wasting mode."
He went further, praising Magistrate Andrew M. Mighty for the decision, saying it exposed "prosecutorial weaknesses, mediocrity and inefficiency."
The remarks come as public debate continues over the correct interpretation of the court's ruling and the overall conduct of the beach access case.
