DEPUTY COMMISSIONER of Police Owen Clunie, the colourful and highly decorated officer who had a long-running legal battle with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), announced his retirement yesterday from the police force, with immediate effect."Yes, he voluntarily retired. He told me that he was going to be involved in some security consultancy," Anthony Hylton, chairman of the Police Federation told The Gleaner.
An attorney-at-law, DCP Clunie served the JCF for over 38 years. Before retiring, he was the officer in charge of Special Projects, his office being based at the Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine.
On April 17, 2002, Mr. Clunie was cleared by Mr. Justice Martin Wright (retired) of charges brought against him by the Police Services Commission.
CHARGED
The DCP was charged with attempting to interfere with a potential witness, disobeying the command of a lawful superior officer and breaching the Jamaica Constabulary's code of ethics. The charges stemmed from a probe by Kent Pantry, Q.C., Director of Public Prosecutions, into allegations of drug trafficking and wiretapping involving the police.
The charges were brought against Mr. Clunie following statements by the DPP that a probe by his office had found that DCP Clunie had acted improperly during an investigation. The former head of the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) was sent on leave in September 2001 by the Police Services Commission.
Mr. Clunie served the JCF in many areas. At one stage he was the Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime. He came up through the ranks, then later opted to study law.
