Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@guardian.co.ott
The Commissioner of Police (CoP) is facing legal action from a local businessman accusing the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of storing false and misleading information in its database about him.
Michael Errol St John instructed former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and Om Lalla to send a pre-action protocol letter to CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher to clear his name.
The letter was sent on Friday, and a report was also sent to the Police Complaints Authority. The top cop has 14 days to respond.
St John owns a successful music promotion company, Tower Promotion Company Limited, and D’Dial Fitness Club at Long Circular Mall, St James, Arima, and One Woodbrook Place.
He survived an attack on his life after he was shot in the face on January 11 near his gym in Long Circular Mall. The entrepreneur is believed to be seeking medical attention in the United States.
In a media conference at Lalla’s office on St Vincent Street in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Maharaj explained that his client’s human and constitutional rights have been infringed upon.
He said St John attempted to get a green card in 2017 and was told by an officer during his interview at the United States Embassy that there was information against him, which made him ineligible. St John conducted “investigations” after he was denied and received screenshots of information about him said to be contained in a police system called Versadex.
Eight years and a few attorneys later, St John has been unable to clear his record, which his lawyers say is hurting his reputation.
“It has affected his trading and business interests, which require him to apply for licences, regulatory permits, insurance, and loans for his businesses. This has posed a significant obstacle to his business,” Maharaj said.
He further warned that any citizen can fall victim to this form of intelligence gathering and data storage.
“You can go and get several certificates of good character and clean records, but you do not know what somebody is recording against you,” he warned.
“If this system continues, the TTPS can give you a clean record certificate, a certificate of good record, but on a Versadex system on a TTPS database, you have information about yourself which is not true and which could be disseminated to embassies, banks, insurance companies, whatever it is, damage and destroy your reputation, but the information cannot be corrected by the TTPS,” he added.
The former attorney general said under Sections 36 and 39 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which he pioneered, a public authority must correct inaccurate information about an individual, failing which the aggrieved can seek a judicial review from the High Court.
Maharaj further explained that St John is not after money but clearing his reputation.
“He has made it clear to us that he is not mainly interested in damages or compensation. His main aim is to vindicate his reputation and his character, and if the Commissioner of Police corrects the record to reflect what is in his certificate of good character, he doesn’t want to file any claim, he doesn’t want any damages, and he doesn’t want any compensation. He just wants justice. He wants his name to be cleared,” he said.
“I urge the Commissioner of Police to take steps to correct this issue. Please do not allow this man to have to go to court to try and get justice. The Commissioner of Police can correct this injustice,” he added.
Additionally, Maharaj called on the National Security Council, led by the Prime Minister, to investigate the incident.
“Now, the letter from the Commission of Police did not dispute that there is a Versadex system in the TTPS. They have not disputed that. But they have not admitted it. But it seems to me that it is possible that the TTPS has several databases. One system is a system to give you a certificate of good character. Another system might be a system in which they profile individuals.”
Emphasising the seriousness of his client’s concern, Lalla questioned if the TTPS database was compromised. He also inquired if other individuals with businesses had possibly faced similar challenges unknowingly.
“How do we ensure that there is integrity in this system in an age of digitalisation, that your character and your reputation can be destroyed with a simple entry?” Lalla questioned.
Guardian Media attempted to contact the top cop for comment but received no response.