Skip to playerSkip to main content
CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
The Police Service has been temporarily barred from continuing with its current promotion exercise for the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police. This has happened because suspended Inspector of police, Mark Hernandez has been granted permission to seek judicial review of the exercise of powers vested in the Police Commissioner.
Transcript
00:00High Court Judge Frank Sivisat has granted an interim injunction restraining the TTPS
00:05from continuing with its current promotion exercise to the rank of Assistant Superintendent
00:11of Police.
00:12The ruling was made on October 2 and extended on October 7.
00:17It's all rooted in Police Inspector Mark Hernandez's successful application for judicial review
00:23of the exercise of powers vested in the Commission of Police.
00:28Hernandez, who was an applicant in the promotion exercise, believes the TTPS failed to ensure
00:33it was conducted in an unbiased, reliable and legitimate manner.
00:38In his affidavit, Hernandez lists several complaints.
00:42The TTPS retained the firm Odyssey Consult Inc. to appoint persons to assessment panels.
00:48Hernandez says it was irrational, unreasonable and illegal to appoint persons who did not
00:54have the appropriate skill, expertise and qualification in policing.
01:00He also says the decision and settled practice of the TTPS to use a universal outstanding
01:07grade for each applicant is irrational, unreasonable and illegal.
01:11He is seeking the Court's order to disclose the qualifications of each member of each
01:16panel, the interview score sheets of each assessor of each panel and the rubric used
01:22in the assessment.
01:24He is also requesting a writ to quash the promotion exercise presently.
01:29In his affidavit, the inspector says he served his country for his entire professional life
01:34as an officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
01:38He enlisted in 1997 as a Special Reserve Police Officer.
01:43In 2002, he became a constable in the TTPS and now holds the rank of Inspector of Police.
01:51Hernandez was appointed as a member of the Special Operation Response Team and was last
01:56appraised in 2021.
01:59He remains suspended after being charged with misbehaviour in public office relative to
02:04his position with SORT and in seeking to apprehend the persons responsible for the kidnapping
02:09and murder of Andrea Barov.
02:12He was invited by the TTPS in July of this year to attend the promotional assessment
02:17briefing which was facilitated by Odyssey Consult Inc. Ltd.
02:22He says every other officer also received a grade of outstanding for the performance
02:27appraisal component.
02:29He completed the written assessment attaining a score of 41 out of 70.
02:34He claims only those who got 50% and more were to advance to the next stage of the assessment
02:41but he named two officers who did not achieve that pass mark.
02:45Hernandez told the court this quote-unquote contaminated the entire promotion exercise
02:51process.
02:52His suitability assessment took place on September 19th and he says he was left questioning how
02:58persons with no experience in policing were able to assess his performance as a highly
03:04tactical officer of the TTPS.
03:07He also says different boards with different members scored different candidates.
03:13Hernandez is being represented by attorney-at-law Gerald Ramdeen.
03:17Urvashi Tewari, Rupanarayan, TV6 News.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment