High Court Strikes Down Case Against Commissioner of Police

Today, the case brought against the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, by Police Constable Alicia Trapp was struck down in the High Court.  As we reported, Trapp was accused of violating the Police Department’s social media policy for taking to Facebook and venting about an incident involving her and Minister Julius Espat during village council elections in June 2022. Trapp sought relief from the court for what her attorney, Orson “Oj” Elrington, says was an arbitrary decision to punish her for exercising her rights. Elrington explained that today the court ruled to strike out the matter based on an application submitted by the Solicitor General’s office. 

Orson “OJ” Elrington, Attorney: “There were three applications before the court. One of them was the defendants made an application to strike out and we made and application for relief from sanction and an extension of time and they were successful in their applications. It was a procedural issue, it was not decided most certainly not on the substance of the matter but rather just on procedure as you know the law is very important for procedure and we had some procedural issues and so the court held in their favor. I have not had the opportunity to consult with her as yet. Obviously the matter is fresh before the court and so we would need to consult and explore what are the possibilities but indeed remember that Ms.Trapp was under some serious threat of termination of her job and other issue and so I believe that while it is we were not successful in bringing the constitutional claim at this point in time she was successful in so far as what was her objective which was not to be terminated from her job because of her political opinion and so the Commissioner of Police, rightfully so, took the step to not proceed along with the course of action where it would have seen her being terminated form her job which was what was their intention at the time.”

Elrington added that Trapp was transferred from her post since and faced a police tribunal, which found her not guilty.