A retired police officer who was retroactively promoted from the rank of corporal to sergeant has been given the all-clear to sue the State over the delay in his promotion, which he claims violated his constitutional rights.
Roger Reid was granted permission by Justice Frank Seepersad to challenge the offices of the Commissioner of Police (CoP) and the Attorney General. Reid filed a civil claim against the State after he was placed on the Order of Merit List for promotion in 2016 but was later denied the promotion before retiring in 2024.
Reid, who was suspended from duty in 2014, said he was entitled to career advancement under TTPS policy and that other senior officers in similar circumstances were retroactively promoted. He contends that his fundamental rights to equality before the law and protection of the law were infringed.
On Tuesday, Seepersad was told that Reid was promoted effective June 20, 2017. This was done on October 4 and published in Departmental Order No. 123 of 2025, dated September 3.
While retroactively promoting him, the State challenged Reid’s claim that he was entitled to arrears. The State’s position is that since the promotion is now effective from 2017, Reid is not entitled to the allowances.
Reid, who is represented by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, indicated that he was not going to abandon the matter.
Seepersad said the prolonged delay suggested that Reid may not have been “treated equally before the law” or afforded “protection of the law.”
He added that those were constitutional issues and ordered the State to file further affidavits, if it wished, and adjourned the matter to December 1. Seepersad said he would then deliver a judgment on whether Reid’s constitutional rights were infringed and, if so, what redress should be granted. - Jensen La Vende
