Police Respond To Claims That Arrested Immigration Officer Is A “Scapegoat”

On Monday, thirty-one-year-old Monique Escalante, a junior immigration officer, was arraigned on a charge of extortion. She is accused of extorting six thousand dollars from Jamaican national Janhoi Richards. Allegations are that Escalante demanded Richards pay the sum and claimed she was entitled to do so as an immigration officer. Escalante’s attorney, Audrey Matura, claims that these allegations have no truth to them and that her client is being used as a scapegoat to cover up the misdeeds of officers of higher rank. We asked Commissioner of Police Chester Willams about these claims.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I don’t expect the attorney to say otherwise. That’s her job to make her client appear to be innocent. I’m not the arbitrary of the facts. I can only present the facts as they are and the court at the end of the day is going to determine her guilt or innocence. But I know for a fact that there is surveillance footage showing the immigration officer going to an ATM with the complainant and the complainant sought to withdraw money from his credit card, but that did not materialize. We also have surveillance footage to show that the complainant was held at the airport for extended hours. At one point in time the airport actually closed and they were still there with him. And the video footage shows certain things that supports the information provided by the complainant. I’m not going to say the immigration officer is innocent or guilty. Like I said, I’m not the one who’s going to decide that, but from an police standpoint, we have sufficient to have lead the charges against her.”

 

Reporter

“And are you able to say whether or not the complainant had attempted to leave the country via the northern border?”

 

Chester Williams

“As far as I’m aware, no.”