Dear Source,
On Friday, Feb. 13, on or about 4:30 p.m. during Police Commissioner Elton Lewis's testimony before the Legislative Committee on Public Safety, Judiciary, Homeland Security and Justice, when asked by the committee for his opinion of the Narcotics Strike Force, Commissioner Lewis stated that if he had his way, he would "disband the unit because it is ineffective and non-functional — neither the U.S. Attorney's Office nor the local Attorney General's will take their cases."
Commissioner Lewis has been listening too much to his "cousins" on the other side of law enforcement. Given he is entitled to his opinion, his response demonstrated his total disconnect about the Narcotics Strike Force. This disconnect was also evident in his Nov. 28, 2003, conflicting directive to all police personnel on "immediate notification of central dispatch of recovered guns/weapons/ammunitions and drugs."
The Narcotics Strike Force is not under the control of the Police commissioner and unless the commissioner is ready to turn over the "investigative responsibilities for all illegal narcotics in the Virgin Islands and its territorial waters" (this is the legislative mandate of NSF to the federal task force), the Narcotics Strike Force will continue to press on, regardless. Time will tell. Read on.
Fitzroy A. Williams Sr.
Director, Narcotics Strike Force
St. Thomas
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