Commander obtains injunction against Reporter

Sep 24, 2017 News

The Commander of ‘A’ Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Marlon Chapman, obtained an Injunction against News Room Reporter, Leroy Smith for words published on his Facebook Page on May 17, 2017 under the heading ‘ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER MARLON CHAPMAN IS A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE’.

The Commander had filed a Claim against the Reporter for Libel on June 27, 2017 and had claimed Damages for Libel, a retraction and apology from the Reporter, Leroy Smith, and an Injunction retraining him from further publishing similar words on his Facebook Page or on the World Wide Web.

In the Article being complained, Leroy Smith had ranted on his Facebook Page that the Assistant Commissioner was a disgrace to the Guyana Police Force and was unfit to be a Police Officer, much less a Commander. He went further and seemed to offer advice to the Commissioner of Police by suggesting that the Commander should be sent to the Strategic Management Unit or Mounted Branch where he would not have to interact with the Public.

He further referred to the Commander as ‘a sorry a—waste, who has four more years in the Guyana Police Force’ and suggested that ‘he should do the decent thing and resign’.

It appears from the Article that the basis for the rant by the Reporter was because of an alleged exchange between the Commander and a Cameraman which was referred to in the Article, whereby the Reporter alleged that he approached the Commander for a side interview.

Upon being told that he was from the same News outlet as Leroy Smith, the Commander is alleged to responded by saying ‘You are from that same place that batty boy Leroy Smith working. I am not talking to you.’

Based on what Leroy Smith was told by the Cameraman seemed to have angered him and therefore he published the offending article on his Facebook page.

After the documents were filed on behalf of the Commander by his Attorneys-at-Law, Mr. Lyndon Amsterdam and Ms. Latoya Roberts, the Reporter did not initially appear in the Court for the Hearing of the Application for the Injunction before Justice Franklin Holder on July 6, 2017.

Despite his absence, the Judge heard the Application for the Injunction and granted an Injunction restraining from further publishing the offending words in the article. Leroy Smith never filed a Defence to the Claim, but later turned up when the matter was put for Trial before Justice Gino Persaud on August 28, 2017 and at that hearing he claimed that his Attorney, Dexter Todd was out of the jurisdiction. He sought time to file a Defence.

However in the adjourned date, the Attorneys for the Commander and Leroy Smith informed the Judge that Leroy Smith had agreed to file a retraction on the Article on his Facebook page and apologise to the Commander. He also agreed to reimburse the Commander for the Legal Fees expended by him to file the Claim.

The Commander who throughout this matter maintained that he did not want any money from Leroy Smith, but instead wanted to ensure that his good name and reputation as a Police Officer with 34 years of service be respected.

At the close of the matter, Leroy Smith approached the Commander and seem to have offered an apology for his actions.

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