Former cop loses lawsuit against ministerial advisor

Finding that there was no evidence to support his case, the Full Court has dismissed the appeal filed by former Police Constable Kelon Gilbert against a decision of High Court Judge Damone Younge, who dismissed the lawsuit he brought against Harry Gill on the grounds that it did not disclose any reasonable grounds for bringing the claim and that it was untenable in law.
Gill is an advisor to a Government Minister. In the action, Gilbert had claimed damages in excess of $5 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress on him at his station of employment on April 21, 2022.
The origins of the action stemmed from a video posted to social media of Gilbert, who was at the time a Police Constable, sleeping at around 15:00h with a high-powered weapon on his lap, while he was supposed to be guarding the residence of the Ministerial Advisor, Harry Gill.
In the lawsuit, he had accused Gill of videoing him without permission when he fell asleep while performing security duties at his home. Through his lawyer, Eusi Anderson, Gilbert had written to Gill demanding from him, a public apology as well as compensation in lieu of civil proceedings. After Gill failed to meet his demands, he filed a lawsuit against him.
At the trial, Gill’s attorneys, Sanjeev Datadin, Donavon Rangiah and Tiffini Barton, had argued, inter alia, that the pleadings filed by Gilbert disclosed no reasonable cause of action for remedies and relief that are available under law and that the claim was an abuse of the process of the court because Gill cannot benefit from his own wrongdoings or the consequence of his actions.
Trial Judge Justice Damone Younge ruled in favour of Gill and struck out Gilbert’s claim, awarding costs to the official in the sum of $100,000. Gilbert then appealed this ruling to the Full Court. On Monday June 5, 2023, the Full Court comprising Justices Nareshwar Harnanan and Sandil Kissoon agreed with Gill’s lawyers’ argument that Gilbert did not present any evidence to support the appeal. The appeal was brought on similar facts to the High Court action.
In the circumstances, the Full Court dismissed the appeal and awarded costs in favour of Gill in the sum of $250,000. This effectively means that Justice Younge’s ruling stands.
In court documents seen by this publication, Gilbert had deposed that on April 21, 2022, he was rostered to work at Gill’s premises but there was no relief and he eventually did a shift of nearly 24 hours. As such, he noted that he was overcome by a lack of rest and food—a fact of which Gill is personally aware since he observed the events. While performing duties, he said that he opened his eyes to Gill directing a recording device to his face.
Since the recording “entered permanently” into the infinite boundaries of the internet, the former Policeman had submitted that he suffered public ridicule and tremendous opprobrium and he and his family cannot stop reeling from the emotional distress it has caused. He had argued that Gill violated his privacy and breached his right to not be recorded without his consent and same is evident in his strident efforts to conceal the recording device when he woke up.
Guyana Times understands that following the incident, Gilbert, who had been stationed at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), was charged departmentally with neglect of duties.