Seniro reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher has agreed to return three licensed firearms to a former soldier, who served on the security detail for former police commissioner Gary Griffith.
The man, whose name was withheld due to security concerns raised by his lawyers, filed a judicial review lawsuit in March, after Harewood-Christopher revoked variations to his firearm user’s licence (FUL), which allowed him to possess a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun.
In his court filings, the man’s lawyers, led by Kiel Taklalsingh, noted that he was first issued an FUL in November 2018 and subsequently purchased a pistol. Between 2019 and 2021, he applied for and received the variations to possess the three additional firearms.
In July 2022, the man was instructed to surrender his FUL and firearms. He wrote to Harewood-Christopher seeking an explanation and only received a response in January last year.
He was told that she utilised her discretion under Section 20 of the Firearms Act to vary his FUL to exclude the three firearms pending the outcome of an investigation.
In the lawsuit, the man’s lawyers claimed that the seizure was unlawful based on unreasonable delay in completing the probe.
“The absence of any good reason or evidence of contemporaneous reasons demonstrates the arbitrary nature of the Commissioner’s decisions and conduct,” his lawyers said.
They also criticised her for failing to provide a reasonable explanation for the seizure.
Earlier this month, head of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) Legal Services Department wrote to the man’s lawyers, informing them that Harewood-Christopher had reversed her decision in relation to his FUL variations. Based on the changed position, the man agreed to withdraw his case.
The man was also represented by Shalini Sankar, Kavita Moonasar, and Keron Ramkhalwhan.
