The apprehension of the head of the Civil Protection volunteers in the capital of Tenerife, executed last Wednesday by National Police officers to the disbelief and disappointment of Tenerife’s community, particularly among those residing in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has already initiated some repercussions.
The Councillor for Security and Emergencies at the Capital City Council, Gladis de León (CC), declared yesterday that she has signed a municipal order stating she will temporarily relinquish her responsibilities “until her legal circumstances have been clarified,” placing Santiago Carlos Martín, the current head of the Santa Cruz Civil Protection Volunteer Group, in her stead, according to an official announcement released by the City Council.
It is important to note that Carlos’s position is voluntary (essentially a position of trust), as the leader of the Santa Cruz Civil Protection service is an experienced civil servant overseeing several municipal technicians.
As for how the volunteering will be managed, the City Council clarified yesterday that, “in the absence of Santiago Carlos Martín during this period, and to ensure that the usual activities of the group are not interrupted, it has been decided that the current deputy chief will take over these responsibilities. This process has been outlined in the regulations governing its operations since last January.”
The councillor also justifies this decision based on the formal lack of knowledge that currently exists within the Capital City Council regarding the arrest of the individual concerned, which was confirmed yesterday by journalistic reports from the National Police, as corroborated by our newspaper through official sources from the Tenerife Provincial Police Station.
De León emphasises “the utmost institutional respect for both the presumption of innocence of the detainee and for the judicial confidentiality.” [referring to the secrecy of proceedings mandated by the court overseeing the case].
Additionally, the Santa Cruz City Council “also offers its full cooperation to the judicial authority for any inquiries needed to clarify the entire situation.”
In this context, it appears that today the individual who has been detained will be presented before the court, namely the Court of Instruction Number 5 in the capital of Tenerife, although legally, the National Police are allowed a general period of 72 hours to act in this regard.
As DIARIO DE AVISOS reported yesterday, unofficial information from sources knowledgeable about the situation suggests an investigation that reportedly arose from a complaint lodged with the court by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, which specializes in combatting human trafficking and other immigration-related crimes, while also being open to exploring other potential criminal activities that may emerge during the investigation.
While we await the lifting of the case’s confidentiality, the fact that since the start of this year, foreign individuals, presumably migrants without proper documentation, have been serving as Civil Protection volunteers provides some context to this situation in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as was seemingly evident during the recent Carnival celebrations in the capital.
Local Police Unions Called for His Dismissal in 2018
If yesterday DIARIO DE AVISOS already reported on the complaint filed by the local Police of Santa Cruz de Tenerife against the head of Volunteering for Civil Protection in Tenerife due to a serious incident during a fire at the Febles Campos Hospital (where his official vehicle was spotted near the hospital during an emergency with the engine running and a 10-year-old girl seated in the driver’s seat alongside a non-uniformed adult male), it must be noted that the conflicts involving the detained Santiago Carlos Martín and the Capital Local Police date back much further.
For instance, in 2018, a service was initiated following an incident where a National Police inspector, attire deemed unacceptable by the elitist capital entity, was denied entry to the Casino while wearing Bermuda shorts. Santiago Carlos publicly rebuked the municipal officials involved, leading to calls from the unions Asipal, CCOO, CSIF, and UGT for his immediate dismissal.
