Today’s Royal Gazette (18th Feb 2021) reports on Justice Subair Williams’ ruled to quash the decision by the PSC to overule the Commissioner of Police’s decision to dismiss Oswin Pereira, and ruled that the original decision to dismiss Mr. Pereira would stand. The Royal Gazette article reported as follows:-
A police officer fired after he was accused of striking a teenage suspect with a baton and turning off his body camera has lost a legal battle to be reinstated.
The Public Service Commission found last year that Oswin Pereira should not have been dismissed for the 2017 incident despite “gross misconduct” in turning off his body camera.
But following a Judicial Review, Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams found in a judgment written on Monday the officer’s prolonged dishonesty warranted his firing.
Mrs Justice Subair Williams said: “The PSC’s acceptance that Mr Pereira wilfully and dishonesty turned off his body cam was implicit that they accepted that he did so to prevent access to any evidence of video footage of the events which transpired after he turned off the body cam.
“Such conduct is the very antithesis of what is expected of a police officer performing his duties honestly and with integrity.
“This conduct falls within the upper category of serious breaches”
The judge said that not only had Mr Pereira been found to be dishonest, but the dishonesty was self-serving and continual.
CLICK HERE for the full report in the Royal Gazette.