[UPDATED] Judge grants midnight injunction to cops in promotion lawsuit

A High Court judge has granted a midnight injunction directing Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher to preserve two vacancies in the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACPs).

The vacancies may not be filled until after the hearing of a legal challenge by two acting ACPs to the assessment process done by a consultancy firm for first-division officers in the police service.

Justice Christopher Sieuchand granted the order on September 12. His order, signed by the registrar, was time-stamped at 12.18 am and lasts until September 17, when Justice Joan Charles will hear the officers’ challenge.

On September 10, Charles granted leave to acting ACPs Winston Maharaj and Subhash Ramkhelawan to pursue their challenge against the CoP and Odyssey ConsultInc Ltd (OCL).

There are only ten vacancies for ACPs. The officers' emergency application said they were told a promotion exercise for ACPs was held on September 12.

A release from the police service on Thursday said eight other officers were made ACPs at a promotion ceremony at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain. Harewood-Christopher congratulated the promoted officers and presented the instruments of appointment to the new assistant commissioners.

She reminded them of their need to “build an organisation that is competent, agile, effective, and professional.”.

In their lawsuit, Maharaj and Ramkhelawan complained that Charles’ order had been served on the commissioner and the consultancy firm, yet an order-of-merit list was still generated and submitted to Harewood-Christopher.

Their lawsuit seeks an order directing OCL to re-interview them before a new panel and for the commissioner to reserve two ACP vacancies pending the hearing and determination of their claim. They are also seeking disclosure of the interview score sheets and other material the panel used to determine their marks, as well as the composition of each panel.

When they served Charles’s order, OCL was asked to hold its hand on generating a merit list and the commissioner from going ahead with the promotion until September 17 for the hearing of their injunction application.

The officers said they would be prejudiced, as there would be no other rank in the first division they could fill if the promotion exercise went ahead.

The emergency application said, “The intended first and second defendants have, therefore, acted in a manner which causes the intended first and second claimants a significant degree of disquiet, that the intended first and second do not appear to be willing to await the outcome of the interim relief application, but instead have chosen to proceed to promote persons, despite the order of the court.”

The two senior officers are seeking declarations that the assessment process for the rank of ACP was unlawful. They have specifically complained about a member of one of the four interview panels – a retired police officer – for their oral assessment on September 3. Both previously worked with the retired officer and had a “fractious” relationship.

They both complained about the retired officer’s inclusion on the panel before they were assessed, and their lawsuit said it was irrational. They have alleged apparent bias in the process.

Maharaj has since sought disclosure of the marking sheets for his assessment.

Ramkhelawan complained he was not told of a general briefing the consultancy firm held before the oral assessment, where he could have raised his concerns.

Both senior officers fear their allegedly compromised assessment could affect their placement on the order-of-merit list and would be prejudiced.

Their lawsuit further alleged a fundamental breach of confidentiality, as the written assessment scores of nine other candidates were disclosed to one of them. Their lawsuit said OCL was required to rate the candidates, create the merit list and submit it to the commissioner, and the “unauthorised disclosure” was unlawful.

The officers are represented by attorneys Vashisht Seepersad and Leon Kalicharan.

Also on Thursday, six officers were promoted to the rank of senior Supt. They are Roger Alexander, Michael Jackman, Arlet Groome, Brian Ramphal, Andrew John and Christopher Paponette.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A High Court judge has granted a midnight injunction directing Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher to preserve two vacancies in the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACPs) until the hearing of a legal challenge by two acting ACPs to the assessment process done by a consultancy firm for first-division officers in the police service.

Justice Christopher Sieuchand granted the order on September 12. His order, signed by the registrar, was time-stamped at 12.18 am and lasts until September 17, when Justice Joan Charles will hear the officers’ challenge.

On September 10, Charles granted leave to acting ACPs Winston Maharaj and Subhash Ramkhelawan to pursue their challenge against the CoP and Odyssey ConsultInc Ltd (OCL).

There are only ten vacancies for ACPs, and the officer’s emergency application said they were told a promotion exercise for ACPs was expected to be held on September 12 at 10 am.

They complained that Charles’ order had been served on the commissioner and the consultancy firm, yet an order-of-merit list was still generated and submitted to Harewood-Christopher.

Their lawsuit seeks an order directing OCL to re-interview them before a new panel and for the commissioner to reserve two ACP vacancies pending the hearing and determination of their claim. They are also seeking disclosure of the interview score sheets and other material the panel used to determine their marks, as well as the composition of each panel.

When they served Charles’s order, OCL was asked to hold its hand on generating a merit list and the commissioner from going ahead with the promotion until September 17 for the hearing of their injunction application.

The officers said they would be prejudiced, as there would be no other rank in the first division they could fill if the promotion exercise went ahead.

The emergency application said, “The intended first and second defendants have, therefore, acted in a manner which causes the intended first and second claimants a significant degree of disquiet, that the intended first and second do not appear to be willing to await the outcome of the interim relief application, but instead have chosen to proceed to promote persons, despite the order of the court.”

The two senior officers are seeking declarations that the assessment process for the rank of ACP was unlawful. They have specifically complained about a member of one of the four interview panels – a retired police officer – for their oral assessment on September 3. Both previously worked with the retired officer and had a “fractious” relationship.

They both complained about the retired officer’s inclusion on the panel before they were assessed, and their lawsuit said it was irrational. They have alleged apparent bias in the process.

Maharaj has since sought disclosure of the marking sheets for his assessment.

Ramkhelawan complained he was not told of a general briefing the consultancy firm held before the oral assessment, where he could have raised his concerns.

Both senior officers fear their allegedly compromised assessment could affect their placement on the order-of-merit list and would be prejudiced.

Their lawsuit further alleged a fundamental breach of confidentiality, as the written assessment scores of nine other candidates were disclosed to one of them. Their lawsuit said OCL was required to rate the candidates, create the merit list and submit it to the commissioner, and the “unauthorised disclosure” was unlawful.

The officers are represented by attorneys Vashisht Seepersad and Leon Kalicharan.