What About the Police Ammunition Issued to Corporal Nah?

Chester Williams

Viewers may recall that Corporal Elmer Nah, a former member of ACP Vidal’s team, was charged with keeping unlicensed ammunition after he was busted with over one hundred rounds at a checkpoint in Independence Village, following the drug plane landing. At the time, the Commissioner of Police confirmed that the ammunitions are the property of the police department, but because Corporal Nah was on leave he ought not to have been in possession of that quantity of rounds. In the event an operation is to take place, ACP Vidal would have had the authority as the issuing officer to distribute ammunition to members of his team. And while that may have been the case here, ComPol Williams explained what the police believes happened in this event.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“One of the issue we had was that, we believe that after any operation were to be conducted, because he has a right to issue ammunition to his people when they go on operations, but we believe once the operation is over, they should return those ammunition in until they are ready to go out again. That did not happen. But that could be for good reason. They were always out on operations. It is not like they were doing once a week operations. They were all over the country. Like the Minister said, they were very result oriented. So they were always out, always doing operations, and perhaps that is the reason why he did not have them return those ammunition after they returned from operations, because he would have to be issuing ammunitions every day. So, it is something we have to look at and look at very objectively Police officers on operations can carry ammunition at large quantities because you don’t know what you will encounter.”

Reporter

“It so happens they were encountering drug planes that they were helping to land.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Again, you have to be real. They were also responding to plane landings. You can’t send officers to respond to plane landings with twenty ammunitions, forty ammunitions, you don’t know what you are going to encounter. So, the issuance of those ammunitions can be easily justified. Yes, it shows now in hind sight that they were using it for the wrong reason. The issuing officer at the time did not know. We can’t kill the man fih that.”