The police command that caused tails on the fence, sanctioned by an incident with British military | Spain

The chief inspector of the National Police David Barrero, destined in border position with Gibraltar and indicated as the person responsible for the queues that have been recorded in the gate in recent months by imposing passage controls to passersby that cross from the colony to Spain, It has been recently sanctioned five and a half months of employment and salary For, among other reasons, a registered incident a year ago with four British military. This is collected by the summary of the file that was provided to the union representatives of the agents at the meeting they held with the General Directorate of the Police on February 20 to study, among other issues, the sanctions to be imposed on several agents. The document, to which the country has had access, details the reasons why three disciplinary sanctions for “serious” offenses, punished with penalties of 60, 60 and 45 days, respectively, imposed on police command.

According to this document, the British military incident for which it has been sanctioned occurred on March 18 last year. That day, Barrero, who was the police officer of the border post of the Line of the Conception (Cádiz, 65,000 inhabitants) with the colony, « ordered that the entrance to (several military of British nationality) be denied that they intended to enter Spain, and that those who were on Spanish soil would return to Gibraltar. » The sanction occurred not by this action, but for not informing what happened to her superior, the head of the Cádiz town police station. This one learned about what happened « the next day, when the news appeared in various media » and asked for « explanations. »

The General Directorate of the Police has considered that this action of the Chief Inspector constitutes a serious fault collected in article 8.c of the Disciplinary Regime of the National Police – which punishes “the omission of the obligation to give an account to the superiority with the proper diligence of any matter that requires its entity its knowledge or urgent decision” – and has imposed police command for a month and 15 days of sanction.

That incident, according to the local press, involved four British military who had arrived at Gibraltar airport on a civil flight and also had a return ticket from the colony. This fact allowed them to pass as tourists to Spain, where they stayed in a hotel on the line of conception, on at least three occasions taking advantage of the fact that, since Brexit was consumed, Gibraltar is in a legal limbo, since the passport is not required or the time of stay in Spain is limited to residents in the rock, who only need to show their red identity card to cross the fence.

In one of those transits from Gibraltar to Spain, two of them taught to identify their military documentation to the Spanish police. When they asked them what was the reason to cross the border, they said they were working in the colony, but that they were staying with two other companions in the neighboring Cadiz. The agents then considered that they had breached the requirements required by extra -community citizens to enter the Schengen space (Internal Border Controls Suppression Agreement, which encompasses 23 European Union countriesin addition to Switzerland, Norway and Iceland) and were prevented from entering Spain. At the same time, he was asked to contact the other two military who were at the hotel to collect their things and return to Gibraltar.

In addition to the sanction for not informing of this incident, the file includes two other facts that ended up finally raising the punishment in the police command at 165 days of employment and salary. According to the documentation, shortly after the event with the British military, the police command « ordered the installation of a radio frequency antenna, for the control of boats, in the police units of the border post, all without the knowledge or authorization of the head of the local police station. » When he was aware of this fact, « he ordered his uninstallation. » Due to this incident, a two -month sanction has been imposed when considering what happened a serious offense collection in article 8.x of the disciplinary regime, which punishes “the infraction of legal duties or obligations inherent in the position or the police function, when they occur in a serious and manifest way”.

The third fact by which it has been sanctioned has to do with this antenna, since to install it, it sent writings to both the City Council and its Local Police that did not previously go through its boss so that it is visible and signed. The file concludes that with this, the Chief Inspector « violated the service order given by the head of the local police station, related to writings and communications aimed at other agencies and dependencies of the National Police, or other people's entities », as was the case, which considers a serious infraction. Therefore, it imposes another sanction of two months of employment and salary in application of article 8.B of the disciplinary regime, which punishes “disobedience to hierarchical superiors or those responsible for the service on the occasion of the legitimate orders or instructions given by those (…)”.

The sanctioned chief inspector has been demanding in recent months to give him written instructions on what controls he must implement on the border and has warned that the non -application of the Schengen protocol is a risk to security. Meanwhile, interior sources have stressed that, as it is an operating unit, verbal orders are enough and not sealing passports does not affect security. The last incident occurred last Friday when the police command was summoned by her superior, the headcase of the line, after, for two hours, ordered to demand the sealing of the passport to the residents in Gibraltar, which caused a collapse on the border.

This was not the first incident starring the Chief Inspector. On October 11, Barrero ordered his subordinates to start sealing the passports of the Llanitos, which caused the Gibraltar authorities to apply the same measure to the Spaniards. The tail then extended four kilometers. Many citizens could not reach their job and the Hospital del Peñón was forced to suspend surgical interventions due to the lack of their cross -border health. The scene was repeated on November 22 for just over two hours, until a counter -order again declined exhaustive controls.