Judge rules against cop with law degree

A police officer who said he was exempted from sitting the police promotion examination for the rank of inspector because he had a law degree has lost his lawsuit against the Commissioner of Police.

Francis Chattie took the commissioner to court after he was made to write the exams in 2016 and had not been exempted from doing so by a departmental order.

In his lawsuit, Chattie, who was represented by attorneys Anand Ramlogan, SC, Jayanti Lutchmedial and Douglas Bailey, claimed that a 2007 departmental order exempted all officers who had an LLB degree and said they were entitled to a full exemption.

Chattie obtained his LLB from the University of London in 2008.

In his ruling delivered in the San Fernando High Court, Justice Frank Seepersad said Chattie had a legitimate expectation that he would receive the exemption and would not need to sit an examination for promotion.

But the judge pointed out that a 2010 departmental order curtailed the decision to exempt officers with an LLB from sitting the exam.

He said the court must always exercise caution and guard against adopting an approach which might have the unintended consequence of creating policy and which could usurp the functions of duly authorised decision-makers.

“It is evident that the Police Service faces unique challenges, the most pressing being the nation’s spiralling crime rate,” he said as he called for “revolutionary approaches to be implemented to ensure efficiency and good administration of the service.

“Police officers are not lawyers, and effective policing requires the cultivation of specific skill sets which should include the ability to use science and technology in crime fighting, critical thinking, solution-oriented approaches, good interpersonal people skills, an acute sense of customer relations, effective communication skills, proper time-management ability and an appreciation of prevailing socio-economic factors,” he said.

Seepersad said the CoP was well within his rights to review administrative policies, including that which led to the 2010 decision.