We also got an opportunity to speak with Police Minister and attorney
General Michael Peyrefitte about what could end up being a long and
drawn-out legal fight between Corporal Arzu and Police Commissioner
Chester Williams.
He said that he is aware of that and that he tried to intervene and
facilitate an out-of-court settlement between the two sides. Here's how
he explained why that failed, and why all persons concerned must now
wait on the lawsuit to run its course:
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Minister of National Security
"I tried on several occasions to have it be done with, so that police
officers can be police officers, and be litigants in a protracted legal
situation. I tried. I tried mediation to try and bring them together off
the record, to see if maybe we can resolve it. But, unfortunately, it could
not be resolved, and people have rights. He has the right to access the
court, and unlike what you intimated earlier, the Commissioner can be sued,
and people don't have to be afraid to take Government or the Commissioner
to court. And everybody will have their day in court, and the courts will
decide. We were unable to reach an acceptable form of compromise for
everybody. I had thought we did. But, it turns out that we didn't. And so,
the court will have to determine each person's rights. What I did say
though is that there will be maximum respect for all police officers. There
will be no disrespect to any police officer by the Government, nor the
Commissioner's office, and vice versa. There will be no disrespect to the
Commissioner's office or the Government that's overseeing the police
department from that perspective. But other than that, people are free to
pursue what they want to pursue."
Jules Vasquez
"Would you be able to divulge if Mr. Arzu's proposed settlement included a
senior promotion to an officer's rank?"
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"Well, we can't settle that because -"
Jules Vasquez
"Did he propose it - his attorney, I should say?"
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"No, I got no such formal proposal. If his attorney is worth her salt - and
I believe she is - she would know that neither myself nor the commissioner
can promote a junior officer to a senior rank because that's not within our
purview. That's done by the Security Services Commission. So, we can't come
to some sort of settlement that would guarantee anybody that type of
promotion. So, I don't think she would have sent it to me, and I did not
receive such proposal."
And although the Attorney General hasn't seen any such proposal. We've
seen a draft settlement deed from Nazira Myles on behalf of Corporal
Arzu, which is dated April 28th, 2020. In it, several proposals were
made for Arzu to be promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police or
Sergeant, and see the reversal of any punitive sanctions against him,
as well as an apology from the Commissioner and a retraction of public
comments which Arzu felt were unfair. There was also a proposal that he
is allowed to hold the chairmanship of the Police Association for 2
years. All of these are contemplated on the premise that Arzu will
agree to drop any and all legal claims against the Commissioner. That
settlement proposal package was not accepted.
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