Father loses negligence claim against state over police trainee's death

 

A father has lost his negligence claim against the State over the death of his son, who collapsed during a physical assessment for recruitment to the Jamaica Constabulary Force, five years ago.

 

Supreme Court Justice Sonya Wint-Blair dismissed the claim, finding that the evidence did not prove that the JCF was negligent or that its recruitment procedures caused the aspiring recruit's death.

 

Jerome Kerr collapsed after running about 350 to 400 metres of an 800-metre endurance test at the Police Training Academy in St. Catherine on May 11, 2021. He died while being treated in hospital.

 

His father, Errol Kerr, acting as administrator of his son's estate, had sued the attorney general and the JCF in 2023, arguing that the Force should have medically cleared his son before allowing him to participate in the strenuous exercise.

 

Mr. Kerr claimed that his son had disclosed his medical condition, which he believed was sickle cell trait, to the JCF before the physical assessment. He also believed that Jerome had undergone, or was scheduled to undergo, a blood test or medical assessment before participating in the exercise.

 

Mr. Kerr said he relied partly on official JCF information which, according to his evidence, listed the medical assessment before the physical assessment. However, this evidence was not accepted by the court as coming officially from the JCF.

 

Justice Wint-Blair, in her judgment, handed down on September 21, found that while the JCF owed the recruit a duty of care, the father had failed to prove that the Force had breached that duty.

 

Deputy Superintendent Dian Bartley, the JCF's chief recruiting officer, testified that the recruitment process at the time required applicants to complete the physical assessment before the medical examination and blood donation.

 

The court found no evidence that the recruit had disclosed sickle cell trait or sickle cell disease to the JCF before the run.

 

The claim was dismissed, with costs awarded to the Attorney General.

 

Attorney Jenoure Simpson represented the State in the matter, while attorney Tamiko Smith represented Jerome Kerr's estate.