SAMOA – A vote of no confidence in Samoa’s suspended Police Commissioner Egon Keil has been sent to the prime minister.

The motion is contained in a petition signed by senior Samoan police officers.

It details the officer’s concerns about how the Ministry of Police is being run, especially relating to law and order in Samoa which they believe is being influenced by American-styled policing introduced by Keil.

Keil, aged 51, spent 17 years with the Los Angeles police department (LAPD).

“Honourable Prime Minister and Cabinet, we are currently in a state of uncertainty and anxiety at the present time due to practices and changes being done within the ministry,” a translated version of the petition reads.

“We are deeply saddened and grieved by the fact that we have worked and offered ourselves to do police work for so long and one that we made a vow to God for, but there have been so many complaints and allegations now made against the police, especially with all the problems that the ministry is now embroiled in.

“This is due to the fact that there is no connection between the laws of Samoa that police men and police women were trained in to do their work, and the laws of America (LAPD) that are now being used.

“This goes against the Constitution of Samoa, like the use of guns every time the police go out on a raid; now even being done when the police respond to conflicts that arise in the country.”

“The petition submitted through the Minister of Police, Sala Fata Pinati, raises a number of concerns about the performance of the suspended commissioner.

“Among them include:

• Concerns about the handling of several matters involving officers within the Ministry of Police by the Police Commissioner.

• His failure to ask for advice from members of the management regarding serious matters that need to be discussed within the management, but he makes his own decisions.

• He looks down on and he doesn’t deem as important the senior police officers and executive members by what he says .

• Creating division between staff members by what he says.

• Rude and unacceptable behaviour and using the prime minister’s name to justify his orders to threaten the staff to do what he wants.

• He ignores and doesn’t respect the minister’s voice or a plea from the minister in many matters where the minister has advised to try and discuss and sort out in light of our customs and traditions, but he doesn’t use these.

• Not even long into his term, a big negative impact has been observed regarding the ministry in light of the many complaints and lawsuits brought against the ministry and it has brought shame and embarrassment to the ministry.

“We end our letter by saying we are all senior management and we have all signed below to act as representatives of all the police men and women of the Ministry of Police, to say that we no longer have any confidence in having Fuiavailili Egon Lincoln Keil as our commissioner,” the petition reads.

“It is also our hope to stop or reduce the many lawsuits now levelled at the Ministry due to the decisions made by the Commissioner.

“Honourable Prime Minister and honourable members of Cabinet, we submit this letter with humble hearts hoping that a special Commission of Inquiry will be carried out and we can provide living evidence to support our application as we have already laid out.

“We hereby plead with you to consider this as we have suffered greatly and we are in need of respite from the bondages of suffering that we are currently in. We have high hopes that you will accept and consider with love and chiefly vision our plea and cry to choose justly and righteously a leader for this ministry.”

- PNC/SA