Police Officer to challenge dismissal

Sep 05, 2009 News

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“I had twenty years’ service remaining in the Guyana Police Force and I know the force would have benefited more from my studies than I would have benefited, taking into consideration opportunities that would be available elsewhere.”

Dismissed Superintendent of Police, Simon McBean, has indicated that he will challenge the decision of the Public/Police Service Commission (PSC).
McBean received his letter of dismissal yesterday, shortly after midday and met with his attorney, Patrice Henry, himself a former police officer, to discuss the options available to McBean.
The dismissal letter which was signed by the Secretary of the PSC stated that McBean was dismissed with effect from December 25, 2007, for what the PSC described as his unauthorised participation in a Master’s Degree course in Global Security and Policing at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.
The PSC stated that in so doing, the Superintendent of Police “breached several regulations/standard procedures”.
Following receipt of his letter, McBean who was up to Thursday stationed in Berbice, proceeded to his former unit, the Tactical Services Unit where he met with former colleagues.
He then drove out of the Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, and headed to Croal Street where he met with attorney at law Patrice Henry in his chambers.
Speaking with several members of the media, Henry who is also challenging his dismissal from the Guyana Police Force said that on face value, the document issued to McBean by the Police Service Commission has not given grounds for McBean’s dismissal.
Additionally, Henry pointed out that the Police Service Commission only has jurisdiction to dismiss an officer when that person would have committed a breach, is charged and found guilty.
“As far as I am aware, Mr. McBean was never charged and therefore his dismissal is a clear violation of natural justice. Section four of the Police Disciplinary Act provides a built-in procedure by statute for persons who would have committed a breach of discipline to be given an opportunity to be heard and if found guilty, dismissal is one of several options,” Henry stated.
He said that one of the options available to McBean will be to proceed in a court of law. “At this stage what we will do is to study the document (dismissal letter) and decide on the best course of action that will be most favourable to Mr. McBean,” the attorney stated.
The Superintendent had personally applied for the scholarship and was successful in being accepted following his exemplary command of security personnel in Barbados during Cricket World Cup 2007.
McBean did apply for special leave to pursue the scholarship, but this was denied by the administration.
However, since he was entitled to three months’ accumulated annual vacation leave, he proceeded to London where he enrolled for the programme.
All went well until the three months expired.
McBean, who enlisted in the Guyana Police Force in 1992 and held several senior positions of command after completing the Standard Officers’ Course, said that when he started the process to proceed on the scholarship, he never thought that it would have resulted in his dismissal.
“I sought permission for study leave and that was refused, however I applied for no pay leave and I have never received an acknowledgement, whether it was granted or not. So I proceeded on my annualised vacation leave and commenced my studies,” he explained.
According to McBean, the first three months of his studies was very stressful and this forced him to seek medical attention and he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.
“I was given the requisite treatment and one of it was, I was advised to continue to study because that was seen as a therapy for the state that I was going through at the moment,” he said.
From then he began submitting certificates of sickness, and this was properly done through the Guyana Consulate in London.
Things continued to go well and at the completion of the scholarship, McBean returned to Guyana last year and continued to serve the Police Force with full pay.
Things began going wrong when he was overlooked for promotion earlier this year.
Then he had his Duty Free concession revoked and there are reports that he was forced to sell his vehicle to pay the duty for another that he had imported in anticipation of his duty free concession being renewed.
“My ambition is not biased. The force would have benefited from my exposure. I had twenty years’ service remaining in the Guyana Police Force and I know the force would have benefited more from my studies than I would have benefited, taking into consideration opportunities that would be available elsewhere,” the dismissed Superintendent stated.
McBean said that if he had to do it again he would.
“I see it as a benefit for myself and for Guyana, that’s the reason why I did it, and I would do it again if it comes to that,” he told the media.
He did not disclose the details of his meeting with Police Commissioner Henry Greene yesterday, stating that it was personal in nature.
McBean who was integrally involved in the preparation of Guyana’s Security plan for Cricket World Cup 2007, is consoled by the solidarity of his former colleagues in the force who he claimed are disappointed with the move to dismiss him.
“If you do a secret ballot within the force, I think you will find over ninety eight percent of the force would have been voicing their concern for what went on. That would give you a picture,” he said.
In fact, one of McBean’s contemporaries indicated that what Guyana refuses, other countries will cherish.
“Here is a young man who is qualified and because of an administrative blunder, although of his own doing, he is facing this kind of action. No wonder our qualified people are being gobbled up by the developed countries.”
The officers are arguing that instead of dismissing the officer, the administration should look at other ways of discipline, such as censorship or reducing the officer’s seniority.
“It would appear as if the force is against the upgrading of some while others are repeatedly benefiting from training,” another Police Officer stated.
This is despite President Bharat Jagdeo expressing his desire to see officers of the force upgrade their academic status.
The move to dismiss McBean comes at a time when some of his colleagues have begun to question the favourable treatment that was meted out to other officers who were on sick leave, in some cases amounting to years.
At least one of these officers was recently promoted while another was granted his full benefits when he retired from the Police Force.
“There are cases where persons who were on sick leave both locally and overseas, in excess of the sick leave that I took, and they were not dismissed on that ground,” McBean said.
His attorney, Patrice Henry, who is awaiting a court hearing with regards to his challenge of the Police Force, believes his experience will serve as an advantage in his representation of his client.
“Being a former member of the Police Force, I will be a person who is aware of the procedures, and since those procedures were not followed and it is glaring on the face of the document, certainly, it could only assist the court when the time comes to mitigate the matter,” Henry told members of the media.

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