UPDATE: Justice Viki Ann Ellis to issue decision in PC vs CoP
According to a Clerk at the High Court of the Virgin Islands, the hearing came to an end on Tuesday last but the decision based on the findings were not announced by the Judge. No definite date was given either.
The hearing of the matter was done via a video link as the lawyer representing the police officer was overseas.
As this news site understands it, PC Tranquille had applied for a judicial review which, should the judge rule in the favour of PC Tranquille, would mean that there is a case for the Commissioner of Police Mr David Morris to answer to.
Repeated efforts by Virgin Islands News Online to reach PC Tranquille or his attorney proved futile up to post time today.
The root of the civil matter is embedded in the fact that PC Tranquille in October 2013, applied to CoP Morris to exercise his power of promotion. PC Tranquille contention was that he sat and passed the examination for promotion to the rank of sergeant pursuant to fourth standing order M74. The application was made on October 4, 2013.
At the January 28, 2014 press conference called by CoP Morris he had told reporters that he was not affected personally when a member of his police force seeks to take legal action against his office.
This he said, noting that the charges are not necessarily laid against him directly but rather his office. “It is not David Morris personally although the press would like to make it that way,” CoP Morris had said. He had also described the question put to him by a reporter regarding the issue as “very convoluting.”
See previous story posted February 27, 2014:
UPDATE: Tranquille vs CoP David Morris matter kicks off
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Initially set to get started a week ago, the civil matter of Police Constable (PC) Nicholas Tranquille vs Commissioner of Police (CoP) David Morris finally started yesterday afternoon February 26, 2014.
Presiding is Justice Ms Viki Ann Ellis. The delay from its first set date was consequent to failure to facilitate an international video link which successfully came to fruition yesterday.
The proceedings were being held ‘In Camera’ debarring its content from being heard in public.
The root of the civil matter is embedded in the fact that PC Tranquille in October 2013, applied to CoP Morris to exercise his power of promotion. PC Tranquille contention was that he sat and passed the examination for promotion to the rank of sergeant pursuant to fourth standing order M74. The application was made on October 4, 2013.
CoP Morris allegedly refused to exercise his power on the ground that the post promotion policy which requires that an applicant for promotion takes and passes a written examination supersedes his power under 4th standing order M74. This in essence on Tranquille’s position is that the promotion policy supersedes the 4th Standing Order as this news site understands it.
See previous story posted February 22, 2014:
PC Nicholas Tranquille vs CoP David Morris civil case for court Feb. 26
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – The civil case of Police Constable (PC) Nicholas Tranquille vs Commissioner of Police (CoP) David Morris has been rescheduled to commence on Wednesday February 26, 2014.
Several reporters turned up at the court on the morning of February 20 when the case was scheduled to commence and were told that the matter was set for 2pm that very day. However upon return and after sitting around for a while, reporters were told that the matter has been adjourned for February 26, 2014.
Asked about the reason for the adjournment Virgin Islands News Online was told that they were to have a video link in the trial but this could not have materialized for that time. It could not have been confirmed if that was the only reason for the adjournment.
Other sources close to the matter also indicated that CoP Morris was in the USA on February 20, 2014.
PC Tranquille had reportedly filed an affidavit of wrongful reversal in rank against CoP Morris, after Mr. Tranquille allegedly received a letter in October, 2013 from the Human Resources Manager of the RVIPF dated September 2013, informing him that he was reverted from the rank of Acting Sergeant back to his substantive rank of Constable.
The Police Officer, with over 12 years of policing experience under his belt, had been an Instructor/Lecturer and Acting Sergeant, at the Regional Police Training Center in Barbados, of which the Virgin Islands (VI) is a member of that learning Institution.
It is believed that Mr. Tranquille did very well in training many VI and regional Police Recruits, but after 2 years at Training School on his return to the VI, it is alleged that that top cop Morris instructed that he be reverted without an explanation, forcing Officer Tranquille to resort to the courts for remedy.
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29 Responses to “UPDATE: Justice Viki Ann Ellis to issue decision in PC vs CoP”
Leave Mr Morris let him do his job!