Court Injunction Stops Police Promotion

A High Court judge has issued an injunction ordering Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher to refrain from filling two Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) vacancies until September 17th, when a legal challenge brought by two acting ACPs, Winston Maharaj and Subhash Ramkhelawan, will be heard. The officers are disputing the promotion assessment process conducted by consultancy firm Odyssey Consult Inc Limited (OCL), which they claim was biased and flawed. The officers specifically objected to the presence of a retired officer on their interview panel due to a prior difficult relationship, arguing that this created an appearance of bias. The senior police officers are also seeking disclosure of the scoring sheets used in their evaluations and claim a breach of confidentiality, after the written scores of other candidates were revealed to one of them. They fear the flawed process could harm their placement on the merit list and requested the court to halt the promotion process until the issue is resolved. The case will be heard on September 17th by Justice Joan Charles, who had previously granted them permission to pursue the challenge.