The Police Commissioner’s office has been ordered to return three licensed firearms that were seized from a Maraval businessman and also pay all his legal costs.
The ruling by High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad on Thursday, is a result of Erla Harewood-Christopher’s decision to seize all three of his licensed firearms, after one was stolen by his relative who used it to commit suicide.
Judge Rampersad upheld the judicial review case brought by the man, who owns a contracting company.
The man was first granted a Firearms User’s Licence (FUL) for a semi-automatic pistol in 2001 and then had it varied to allow him to possess another pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.
On August 30, 2021, the man took one of his firearms with him when he and his family went to spend time at their vacation home Down the Islands.
The man reportedly secured the pistol in a locked safe box but one of his relatives managed to access it and used the gun to commit suicide.
The gun was seized by investigators from the Carenage Police Station as part of their probe into the suicide. Investigators also took possession of his FUL as they claimed that they needed to verify that the gun was covered under it.
The man was told that the FUL would be returned within a week, but it was not.
The officers also seized the man’s other licensed firearms and ammunition that were stored at his home, as they claimed that he could not remain in possession of them while they still had his FUL.
The man filed the lawsuit after the FUL and the firearms not used in the incident were not returned.
Harewood-Christopher did not provide evidence in response to the lawsuit, which was instead given by acting Corporal Shaneyae King, who was assigned to investigate the death of the businessman’s relative.
King claimed that the investigation into the alleged suicide morphed into a homicide investigation, as three people who were present at the time of the shooting, including the businessman, tested positive for gunpowder residue.
King claimed the weapons and FUL were being withheld as a precautionary measure until the probe was completed.
In his judgment, Justice Rampersad criticised Harewood-Christopher for failing to provide evidence.
“The lack of details as to when steps were taken with respect to the investigation and passing of documents seemed to be discourteous to the court, in the failure to be full and frank so that the court could see the whole picture including the expedition of the process when necessary and where possible,” Justice Rampersad said.
He also pointed out that the businessman was never prosecuted for failing to properly secure the firearm.
“Therefore, since that concern ie the storage or securing of the firearms, or any other offence related to the contravention of any term or condition of the licence, is no longer on the table, the defendant should have explained to the court why she thought it necessary to retain the firearms and the FUL in circumstances when she did not consider the claimant’s possible failure to properly secure the same actionable,” Justice Rampersad said.
“Since her thought process was not laid bare before this court to explain what she considered and what she thought important, a duty which she could not delegate to acting Cpl King or anyone else, the court comes to the view that the continued retention of the same is unexplained and therefore is unlawful,” he added.
As part of his judgment, Justice Rampersad quashed the decision to withhold the firearms and the FUL and ordered that the items be returned.
The Police Commissioner’s Office was ordered to pay the businessman’s legal costs.