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The High Court has ruled that the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) suspension of Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher was lawful, reasonable, and proportionate, dismissing her legal challenge just days before the end of her term on May 15.
However, the PSC has lifted Harewood-Christopher’s suspension. The announcement was made by the PSC’s lead attorney, Senior Counsel Deborah Peake, who said the commission has decided to lift the instruction to the CoP to cease reporting for duty in light of the position of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that there was no prospect of a conviction for the offence of misbehaviour in public office.
Peake said a letter was expected to be sent to Harewood-Christopher on the morning of May 12, but she could not give an immediate timeline, only that she had those instructions from the commission. She said she expected communication to go out to the commissioner and the acting commissioner.
Peake’s position was in response to a query by Harewood-Christopher’s attorney, Pamela Elder, SC, who pressed for the CoP’s immediate reinstatement.
In delivering his ruling on May 12, Justice Christopher Sieuchand found that the PSC acted within its authority when it suspended Harewood-Christopher on January 31 amid a police investigation into the procurement of two sniper rifles for the Strategic Services Agency (SSA). Harewood-Christopher had contested the legality of the suspension, but the court upheld the PSC’s decision, finding it neither irrational nor illegal.
Sieuchand said the suspension was urgent and administratively necessary and was not intended to inflict punishment.
Harewood-Christopher was arrested on January 30 as part of an investigation into the procurement of sniper rifles for the SSA.
The suspension letter issued by the PSC cited the public and institutional interest in the matter and instructed her to cease performing her duties immediately. She was invited to submit representations on its decision. The PSC also notified President Christine Kangaloo and submitted nominations for acting appointments, leading to Parliament’s approval of Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin as acting commissioner on February 5.
Harewood-Christopher and Best were released from custody on February 1 pending further investigations. On May 11, DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, announced that there was no evidence to support any criminal charges against Harewood-Christopher.
Gaspard explained that the investigation examined whether she had "wilfully neglected" her duties or "wilfully misconducted" herself. Gaspard said the evidential threshold was a high one, requiring conduct so far below acceptable standards that it was "an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder."
“The authorities also establish that a mistake, even a serious one, will not suffice,” Gaspard said. While there was sufficient information to justify her arrest, he concluded there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. “I am further fortified in my conviction since the evidence has not unearthed any improper motive, consideration or quid pro quo,” he added.
Harewood-Christopher was appointed police commissioner in February 2023 and had less than four months remaining on her contract at the time of her suspension.
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