SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT of Police, Reneto Adams, former head of the now defunct Crime Management Unit (CMU), has taken his case to the Court of Appeal as he continues his bid to be returned to active front line duties.
He has filed an appeal against a Supreme Court order in June this year which turned down his application for an injunction to bar the Commissioner of Police from re-assigning him to administrative duties at Mobile Reserve. He is also appealing against the Supreme Court's decision turning down his application for leave to apply to the Judicial Review Court, to get an order quashing the Commis-sioner's directives.
Four persons, including two women, were fatally shot on May 7 this year at Kraal, north central Clarendon, during an alleged shoot-out with some members of the CMU. Investigations are being conducted by the local police with the assistance of the British-based Scotland Yard.
RANK PREJUDICE
SSP Adams' lawyers argued at the hearing in the Supreme Court that his re-assignment amounted to disciplinary action, which could only be arrived at after due process involving the Police Service Commission. SSP Adams claimed that the dissolution of the CMU, immediately after the shoot-out at Kraal and during the ongoing investigation, would result in rank prejudice to him.
Lawyers representing the Commissioner of Police had argued that in relation to the operational decision of the Police Force, the Constabulary Force Act "gives the Commis-sioner of Police the discretion to transfer, deploy and assign members of the Force".
Mr. Justice Basil Reid, in handing down his decision in the Supreme Court, held that SSP Adams' removal from front line duties and his re-assignment to desk-bound duties did not amount to disciplinary action and were not unlawful.
SSP Adams is asking the Court of Appeal to find that the judge erred in his finding that the Commissioner acted solely pursuant to a management decision involving the deployment of his staff and the running of the JCF and, therefore, no public law element or interest was involved.
