Police Commissioner Gary Griffith says his office had not been informed of the pending court matter in which he is being threatened with contempt of court,
In a statement on Tuesday, Griffith claimed that he could not abide by Justice Frank Seepersad's order over reclassifying a retired officer's injury leave as it was not brought to his attention.
Although the order was granted in October, last year, Griffith claimed that he was only informed, last Friday, before the case was expected to come up for hearing before Seepersad.
"It should be noted that the Commissioner’s Office could not act upon an order of the Court as neither the Commissioner, the Office of Commissioner of Police nor the Legal Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) was informed through the relevant arms of the State," the release said.
While the statement did not identify which State body failed to inform his office, the TTPS was represented by the Solicitor General's Department, the civil litigation department of the Office of the Attorney General.
"This situation now highlights major administrative deficiencies in such matters and requires a review by all arms involved in these processes to prevent such recurrences," the release said.
It stated that in cases where the documents are not delivered as required, the TTPS's attorneys would attend hearings to ensure what transpired in the case before Seepersad is not repeated.
Griffith said he inherited over 150 various pending lawsuits from his predecessor Stephen Williams and noted that there was an ongoing restructuring exercise of the TTPS's Legal Unit.
The outstanding cases include Freedom of Information requests, classification of sick and injury leave and outstanding promotions.
The reformed unit is also expected to assist with over 300 pending disciplinary cases against officers, who are on suspension and still have to appear before a tribunal to determine whether or not they can resume service.
It will also seek to monitor cases which are dismissed over the failure of police officers to attend court hearings.
About the Case
In his lawsuit, retired police officer Ashram Pariagsingh was challenging a decision by former police commissioner Stephen Williams to retroactively reverse his injury leave.
Williams' decision meant that he had to repay $450,000, which essentially wiped out his gratuity.
Pariagsingh suffered an injury while he was assigned to the La Brea Police Station on May 8, 2012. He was walking in the back of the station when he slipped on a puddle of water caused by a leaking pipe.
However, Pariagsingh was investigated for making a false report after two of his colleagues claimed that he fell at a parlour near to the police station.
In his judgement, Seepersad ruled that in 2015 Williams placed undue weight on the evidence of Pariagsingh's colleagues as opposed to the T&T Police Service (TTPS)'s disciplinary investigator, who cleared Pariagsingh of any wrongdoing.
He also ruled that Williams also failed to properly consider all the evidence in the case.
During a hearing this week, Seepersad gave Griffith an additional 14 days in which to comply or he would face contempt of court proceedings.