00:00Top of the news, Police Commissioner Alistair Guevaro is standing his ground on the special operations measures in Maloney Gardens.
00:08Facing mounting criticism, Guevaro says he makes absolutely no apology for the move, insisting it will remain in place for
00:16as long as necessary.
00:18And according to the commissioner, residents are backing the operation.
00:22Renessa Cutting has more from the TTPS media briefing.
00:30Remain inside your premises, or less otherwise legally authorized for holding a violent curfew movement.
00:36Please cooperate with police officers and follow all your instructions.
00:41Residents of Maloney Gardens were informed by this surprise announcement that their area was under lockdown last evening.
00:49As police and soldiers moved into the area and rolled out the special operations curfew order and closed area order
00:57in accordance with the Special Operations Act 2026.
01:03The law was followed, the evidence was considered, the intelligence was assessed, and the threshold prescribed by the Parliament was
01:11met.
01:12The President acted, law enforcement responded, and lives may have very well been saved as a result of the actions
01:20we took.
01:21I have been asked two questions repeatedly since last night.
01:26The first is, and this may preempt some of the media, how long will Maloney remain a closed area?
01:35And my answer is simply, the operation will remain in effect for as long as is lawfully necessary to ensure
01:44public safety.
01:45The Commissioner says recent events, namely a now viral video of an indiscriminate shooting over the Diwali weekend,
01:54together with information of gang activities in the area, prompted the lockdown.
01:59To reveal an escalating and dangerous situation involving gangs who utilized the said Maloney housing development as a place of
02:08refuge.
02:10Intelligence also indicated that these incidents were linked to historical gang conflicts,
02:16which in the past have resulted in fatal, reprisal, and protracted cycles of violence.
02:24Most concerning to me was the fact that innocent citizens were being caught in the crossfire.
02:31The Topkop adds, he has taken note of persons criticizing the law enforcement measure.
02:37Persons, he says, are simply not patriots of this country.
02:42But I, Alistair Guevara, 1G, never 2,
02:49I make absolutely no apology for taking any and all reasonable and lawful measures necessary to save lives.
03:00The overwhelming majority of residents, whom I encountered, understood that the reality welcomed the presence of police officers and soldiers.
03:11The Commissioner acknowledges, however, that there is a measure of inconvenience.
03:16He's advising affected persons to visit either of the two police units set up in the area for information on
03:23permits and any other concerns.
03:26So the simplest method utilized is walking to the micro-police unit and apply for a permit.
03:32They will be able to issue you a permit.
03:35The other is if you are going to visit, our police officers have something they call discretion that we utilize.
03:42The Special Operations Act was passed with the government's simple majority
03:46and a tiebreaker vote from Senate President Wade Mark, despite concerns raised over the unlimited powers and scope of the
03:54bill.
03:55It was only on Monday that a United Nations Human Rights Council raised concerns over this country's repeated use of
04:03emergency powers as a crime-fighting tool.
04:06We operate within the law.
04:09We do not infringe on persons' rights.
04:12And one of the things that I often tell persons, we are all trained by virtue of one of the
04:19four pillars pointed out in the Special Operations Act was human rights.
04:24Section 21 of the Special Operations Act also dictates that a police officer or a member of the defense force
04:32shall, as far as is possible, use a body-worn camera during the conduct of a special operation in a
04:39closed area.
04:40I am certain that there were body cams there last night, but not all of the officers would have been
04:45afforded the opportunity to have them.
04:48Meantime, the commissioner declined to say whether there were any arrests or seizures overnight.
04:54I purposely did not.
04:56Well, is there any information or not?
04:58Not that I will share with you at this time.
05:00The top cop was equally tight-lipped about possible plans for additional lockdowns.
05:05No, you can't say where, but you all have some more coming this week here, next week.
05:10Ma'am, the operations of the police with regards to the Special Operations Act are dictated, and I want the
05:17public to hear this, by your behavior.
05:22If people behave themselves, that is one piece of legislation I had in my toolkit that I wish I didn't
05:28have to use.
05:30Honestly.
05:32I wish I didn't have to use it.
05:35But just know that I am prepared to use it.
05:39Vanessa Cutting, TV6 News.
