PCA lobbies for errant cops to pay out of pocket

THE Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is lobbying for errant police to be directly liable for their wrongful actions by paying out of their own pockets.

Police are currently protected from direct liability under the State Liabilities and Proceedings Act, leaving taxpayers to foot the often hefty costs for constitutional breaches, such as wrongful arrest.

Director David West, speaking at the PCA's first virtual public outreach meeting on Thursday, said, they have made recommendation to the Attorney General to change the law and noted that the issue had been raised by judges recently.

"This is important because a lot of the times, we find that the police go overboard and if it is that we feel the police are accountable for their actions by paying from their own pockets, a lot less (wrong) will be done."

Last year, former police commissioner Gary Griffith also called for a review of personal liability of police in light of millions of dollars being paid by the State in lawsuits against the service.

In response then, TT Police Service Second Division Association president Gideon Dickson said it would not support such a move.

"We understand the commissioner in his bid to bring about more accountability and transparency and to appease the public in which we serve would have made the statements. We respect that, but we are not in support of the statements.

"Regardless of the statements being made, the law is clear. We don’t want a situation where officers have to hesitate before they act, especially when you are faced with life-threatening issues." Dickson did not respond to calls on Saturday seeking further comment.

Speaking further on police accountability, West said the provision of 1,000 more body cameras to police was good news.

"I hope they use that. And the importance of the body cam is that it's a reflection of what happens in real time.

He said the number of overall complaints to the PCA has also increased "quite a lot," over the past year and they have have hired three more investigators to tackle the high case load.

West said since launching the app in 2017, which allows someone to make a report using a phone, there have been over 3,800 complaints through that medium.

"Let me tell you, during covid, when we were in lockdown, the PCA app worked because a lot of people could not come into the PCA but what they did was log in via the app and they sent in complaints."

In relation to completed investigations, West said he is "anxiously awaiting" to hear the outcomes from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on matters relating to former deputy commissioner of police Irwin Hackshaw (now retired), who is accused of collecting over $2 million in donations and placed it in his personal accounts and other cases.

"I have been in contact with the DPP and they are working on that matter," he said. The Hackshaw file was went to the DPP in September, 2020.

West said the case involving several officers who were captured on CCTV in a shooting incident where three men were killed in Second Caledonia, Morvant, again in 2020.

The killings were followed by a series of fiery protests from residents, leading to clashes with the police.

Another case relates to the deaths of two suspects – Andrew Morris and Joel Balcon – in the Andrea Bharatt case who died while in police custody.

To further instil the independence of the organisation and boost public confidence, West said the PCA will now be rebranded as the independent PCA "because I want you to know that we are independent, in that there are no police involved in the PCA and there is no political interference involved in the PCA either."