14 September 2019 Apia Samoa. Constable Shrikrishna Schwenke has been suspended and arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm while his senior within the Transnational Crimes Unit Inspector Ituau Ale is suspended pending further investigation.
Responding to questions from Samoa Global News, Police Commissioner Su’a Fuiavailiili Egon says the Samoa Police Service has zero tolerance to misconduct of this magnitude and immediate action has been taken by the Department.
“Police officers are empowered by the public to uphold the law NOT to break them; and as such, internal disciplinary actions have been activated to fully look into this and any other unacceptable behaviour stemming out of this matter will also be explored.”
Commissioner Keil went on to reiterate that “there are certain behaviours that cannot and will not be toletated in any law enforecement agency;
“This is one of them.”
“All of our members are well aware of my position when it comes to tarnishing the reputation of the Samoa police service. All of us are to strive to gain the trust of the public and our partners, by being professional and obeying the law and internal policies;
“If a member intentionally violates those mandates, that member has no place in this agency,” added Su’a Fuiavailiili.
Su’a said despite the disappointment of this incident, it should not reflect on the many hard-working officers within the Samoa Police Service.
“That said, the men and women of SPS are hardworking, intelligent, good officers who are in this profession to help the people of Samoa”.
“So this incident goes against the grain and is deeply disappointing”.
