Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva denied a football coach was incorrectly arrested for a speeding ticket dating back to 2005.

He also said he was "disappointed" in comments made by Senator Michael Dunkley on the situation.

Keishon Smith said he was forced to spend a night in a jail for an outstanding ticket when he had already paid the fine.

The Royal Gazette reported earlier this week that the 35-year-old spent the night in jail last Thursday missing Ziggy Marley perform at the Bermuda Music Festival.

The coach of Devonshire Colts and Knights claimed he was taken to Magistrates' Court the following morning where it was discovered he had already paid the fine he was arrested for.

But yesterday, Mr. DeSilva said Mr. Smith was in fact arrested for an existing warrant.

"Mr. Smith was arrested by Police on the evening of September 30 on an apprehension warrant. The warrant had been issued by Magistrate's Court because Mr. Smith failed to attend court to answer a speeding charge from 2005.

"Mr. Smith was arrested on a warrant that was indeed valid, and removes discretion from the Police as it is an order from the court to arrest the named person."

The Commissioner said in court, prosecutors withdrew the charges due to the age of the warrant and the nature of the offence.

Mr. DeSilva also said the coach did pay a speeding ticket in 2006 but it wasn't for the apprehension warrant.

He added his officers had spoken with Mr. Smith and cleared up the matter.

But Mr. Smith said he hadn't heard anything from Police regarding the situation except for a phone call to attend jury duty.

"No one has contacted me about the matter. They never called to clear up the incident or apologise. The records are wrong and my question to them would be if the Police stopped me for a violation and they called my name in, if I had a warrant from 2005, wouldn't they have executed that warrant years ago?

"How did that slip by? It goes to show that the records are wrong. I'm sure it's happening to everybody."

Mr. DeSilva also chastised Sen. Dunkley for comments and said they "stem from a series of misrepresentations and a version of events that is not true".

"As such his criticism of the Police Service is unwarranted, unhelpful and unfair. Of particular concern is the fact that our Deputy Commissioner spoke with Mr. Dunkley personally on Wednesday morning and explained all the facts of the case.

"Despite Mr. Dunkley's broadside against the Police and his links between speeding tickets and investigating serious crimes, my officers acted appropriately, correctly and as prescribed by law."

Sen. Dunkley said while he did speak with the Deputy Commissioner, he felt a situation like this could have a negative impact on the community.

"I also suggested that jailing a person for a speeding ticket and then handcuffing them the next day when taking them across to court was in my opinion over the top.

"It is unfortunate that the Police consider my comments a 'broadside' against them. I have, and will continue to be, supportive of them when appropriate.

"However, I will not shy from offering comments on matters that need attention. It is still my opinion that this matter was handled poorly and if this is how outstanding speeding tickets are handled then we do indeed have serious issues that need to be addressed and improved as we work with the Police to combat the high levels of crime and gun violence in our community."