Driver threatens to sue over Beyond the Tape 'most wanted' broadcast

A driver who paid her traffic ticket for breaching a traffic sign in 2015, but saw her name and photograph aired on the police’s public affairs TV programme Beyond the Tape, last week, is threatening to take the deputy Police Commissioner to court over the embarrassment she has endured.

The woman is also threatening to file legal proceedings against the Caribbean Communications Network (CCN), the parent company of TV6, which airs the programme.

Her attorneys, of the firm KR Lalla and Company, wrote to Deputy CoP McDonald Jacob and CCN’s general manager complaining about the programme.

Attorney Dereck Balliram said his client received the ticket on November 19, 2015, and paid it on February 3, 2016. He said she has a receipt to show she paid the ticket.

In the letter on October 21, Balliram said she and her family were watching the Beyond the Tape programme when, in the most-wanted segment, her photograph, name and address were aired.

Balliram said the segment “erroneously, falsely and maliciously” highlighted that his client was a person of interest and there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest for failing to pay her traffic ticket.

He said she is unaware of any warrant, nor has she ever evaded the law, and a careful and thorough investigation by the police would have revealed she had paid her fine.

“This matter has resulted in extreme embarrassment, distress and anxiety to our client as the allegations of the existence of an outstanding warrant was published and broadcast to the viewing population of TT and continues to be accessible by millions of viewers around the world by live stream on the TV6 website.”

Balliram asked if there was a warrant, that this be rectified.

To CCN, the attorney complained that no proper investigation was done before his client’s image and address were broadcast, saying the “defamatory words” of the hosts of the programme brought her into “ridicule, hatred and contempt.”

He said her information was shown as part of a slideshow of photographs of other people wanted for robbery, attempted murder and various offences.

Balliram also said the woman remains traumatised and fears t she might be arrested at any time by the police, although she paid the fixed-penalty traffic ticket.

He wants the television network to remove his client’s photograph, address and name from the programme’s most-wanted segment, as well as an apology, a reasonable proposal for compensation and legal costs of $8,500.