Cop loses transfer case against former acting CoP

A POLICE sergeant who accused former acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams of malice in his decision to transfer him from the Northern Division Task Force to the Central Division has lost his claim.

Sgt Matthew Haywood sued the former acting commissioner, seeking several declarations that the decision to transfer him was illegal and an abuse of power, among others, and an order to quash the decision.

In his lawsuit, Haywood claimed the decision to send him to the Central Division was “malicious, unfair and actuated by irrelevant considerations.”

He made several allegations against Williams, including a claim that he was transferred because he was investigating a relative of the former commissioner, and also contended that the decision was contrary to law, unreasonable and against the Police Service Regulations, since the former commissioner failed to consider the hardship Haywood would face.

Haywood said the former commissioner failed to give him notice of the transfer in accordance with the regulations or to allow him to make representations of any hardship he might face as a result.

He also claimed the move to put him in the Central Division put his life at risk.

However, in his ruling, Justice Ricky Rahim on Friday said there was no basis to find that Williams acted in malice or bad faith.

“Simply put, the circumstances as set out by the claimant do not satisfy the court that is more likely than not that the claimant was transferred because of his investigation into the relatives of the CoP or because the CoP perceived that the claimant had launched such an investigation.

“The claimant may have been of the opinion that this was the case but this did not appear to have been a reasonable belief in the circumstances. The evidence presented by the claimant is highly speculative in the court’s view. It does not meet the criteria of direct and circumstantial evidence from which reasonable conclusions can be drawn. In so saying it would be highly improper for the court to speculate in this regard,” the judge said.

He also said it must be made clear that the commissioner had the power, once it was not tainted by malice, bad faith or abuse, to transfer any officer, and in Haywood’s case the decision appeared to have been an ordinary management decision “all in an effort to stem the disastrous tide of crime gripping the nation as a whole and to allocate the human resources available to the police service in a manner that is effective.”

Rahim also said Williams did consider the hardship the transfer would have on Haywood and his family.

“The decision to transfer is a managerial one which (it can be reasonably inferred) is taken often in an attempt to make efficient use of the human resources within the police service depending on the needs at the particular time,” Rahim said, adding that Williams provided ample reasons for transferring Haywood.

Haywood is still assigned to the Central Division.