By RHONDOR DOWLAT Sunday, November 15 2009

Suspension looms over the heads of seven officers of the Port-of-Spain City Police after it was discovered that the pictures of the Port-of-Spain Mayor Murchison Brown and President George Maxwell-Richards were stolen during the early hours of Thursday morning.

Surveillance tapes were viewed on Friday morning which showed that between 3 and 3.15 am a man dressed in a red pair of pants and yellow jersey walked past the City Police charge room and walked upstairs of the City Hall.

The man was shown walking towards the wall two feet away from the Mayor’s office where he then took down the two portraits from the wall and walked away from the scene.

Sunday Newsday was informed that sometime during Thursday morning a member of the public visiting the Mayor’s office noticed the pictures missing and reported it to an official, who then reported it to Brown.

Upon checks, it was confirmed that both Brown’s and Richards’ pictures were missing, and the only picture left on the wall was the portrait of Prime Minister Patrick Manning. An investigation has since been launched into the incident and the Mayor is said to be currently awaiting a comprehensive report which is expected to be compiled by ASP Carlton Pedro, Superintendent Joseph Cooselal, and Sgt Balgobin.

Efforts to reach Brown for comments yesterday proved futile; however, an official at City Hall said that Brown was highly upset over the incident.

The official said that the incident showed total disrespect for the offices of the President and Mayor.

Investigations are continuing.