Ferdinands v Commissioner of Police No. Dcaat-00-84

Trevor Kingsley Ferdinands appealed against the decision of the Police Disciplinary Tribunal, which found him guilty of a breach of discipline for making a false complaint against Inspector Harbour. The grounds of appeal were whether the magistrate erred in law, failed to properly consider the defence of honest and reasonable belief, and whether the appellant was denied a fair trial. The court allowed the appeal on the basis that the magistrate failed to consider the defence of honest and reasonable belief. The matter was remitted back for a re-hearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal. The court found that the magistrate had erred in failing to consider the defence of honest and reasonable belief and that the appellant was denied a fair trial due to the magistrate's refusal to allow the appellant to cross-examine witnesses about the events of the 10th July and his motives for reporting the appellant's observations to the appellant's senior officer. The court also found that the magistrate had erred in refusing to allow the appellant to inspect the notes of Constable Westmacott, a senior investigator for the Authority, who was attempting to refer to his notes to refresh his memory during cross-examination. The court concluded that the appellant had made out part of his complaint on ground H and allowed the appeal and remitted the matter back for a re-hearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal.