Corporal Rohan James, Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation
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Attorney Bert Samuels and Corporal Arlene McBean, General Secretary of the Police Federation
By Clinton McGregor
A legal battle is looming between Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation Corporal Rohan James and the Police High Command over the decision of Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson to bring charges against him.
Corporal James has been sent home after being been interdicted by the Police Commissioner.
The disciplinary action follows recent comments by Corporal James chastising the High Command over the delay in implementing the software system to properly calculate overtime for rank and file members.
Corporal James had also accused the High Command of seeking to cap the overtime payments.
He made the comments on July 16 at the funeral service for slain police constable Damien Blair, warning the High Command and Police Commissioner that he would not be intimidated, adding: "God helps you (sic) if the membership is not paid their overtime come this month."
Bert Samuels, one of the attorneys representing Corporal Rohan James, told Radio Jamaica News that a lawsuit will be filed in the Supreme Court next week seeking an injunction to block the notice served on the Corporal.
"Corporal Rohan James has given instructions to us at Knight, Junor and Samuels to file an action for a stay of his interdiction by the Commissioner of Police, and to seek thereafter judicial review in an effort to seek to quash a decision to interdict him and to hold a court of enquiry against him."
Mr. Samuels has accused the Police Commissioner and the High Command of seeking to silence and remove Corporal James as Chairman of the Police Federation.
"The Corporal being the chairman of the Police Federation cannot hold that office if he is not a corporal. So effectively this interdiction is to remove the chairman, having carried out his duties to represent his colleagues and to seek for them an order of the court that they should be granted overtime pay," he pointed out.
Corporal Arlene McBean, General Secretary of the Police Federation, on Thursday sent out a message to rank and file members across the country confirming the action that has been taken against the Chairman.
She urged members to continue to be safe and protect the citizens of Jamaica as the Federation keeps them further updated.
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