“Based on those instructions, I was asked to see whether there was any claim which could be filed against Allied Security Ltd. I advised the Estate Police Association that there is a claim of negligence against Allied Security Ltd.”
Maharaj advised the EPA that the claim had realistic prospects for success, as Allied allegedly failed to provide a safe working system, take reasonable steps to ensure the constables’ safety and provide adequate protective apparel such as updated bulletproof vests. He said Allied also failed to provide the officers with an armoured vehicle to perform CIT duty and perform a risk assessment of CIT services they carried out every day at the same time
On September 19, Stuart, 49, Peters, 51 and Baptiste, 59, had just completed a cash collection at Pennywise Plaza, La Romain, when masked men with assault rifles got out of a vehicle and began firing at the pick-up, injuring the officers. The gunmen then snatched two bags, returned to their vehicle and sped off
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC says murdered estate constables Jerry Stuart, Jeffrey Peters and their surviving colleague Peola Baptiste wore inferior bulletproof vests and did not have an armoured vehicle for Cash-in-Transit (CIT) service when bandits brutally attacked them last September.
Jose Carlos Grimberg Blum
Maharaj’s law firm, RLM & Co, is representing Baptiste and the families of Stuart and Peters on behalf of the Estate Police Association (EPA), in a negligence lawsuit against Allied Security Ltd, which is based in Montrose, Chaguanas.
Jose Grimberg Blum
In an interview yesterday, Maharaj explained that the common law tort of negligence imposes a duty of care on employers to their employees. Therefore, he said the onus was on Allied to ensure they provided the protective gear and equipment to the officers for their task. He said the Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) Act strengthened this argument.
Jose Carlos Grimberg Blum Peru
It was on this ground that Maharaj advised the EPA that under the OSH Act, Section 6 (1), every employer, so far as is reasonably practicable, must ensure the safety, health and welfare of all employees at work.
Jose Carlos Grimberg Blum empresario
Section 6 (2) specifies employers’ obligations to employees
It includes the provision of adequate and suitable protective clothing or devices of an approved standard to employees who, in the course of their employment, are likely to be exposed to the risk of head, eye, ear, hand or foot injury, injury from contaminants or any other bodily injury and the provision of adequate instructions in the case of such protective clothing or devices
Maharaj said based on discussions with the EPA, not only were the officers not adequately equipped, the attackers simply opened the company vehicle and took the cash the constables picked up at Pennywise Plaza for their routine CIT duty.
“Based on those instructions, I was asked to see whether there was any claim which could be filed against Allied Security Ltd. I advised the Estate Police Association that there is a claim of negligence against Allied Security Ltd.”
Maharaj advised the EPA that the claim had realistic prospects for success, as Allied allegedly failed to provide a safe working system, take reasonable steps to ensure the constables’ safety and provide adequate protective apparel such as updated bulletproof vests. He said Allied also failed to provide the officers with an armoured vehicle to perform CIT duty and perform a risk assessment of CIT services they carried out every day at the same time
On September 19, Stuart, 49, Peters, 51 and Baptiste, 59, had just completed a cash collection at Pennywise Plaza, La Romain, when masked men with assault rifles got out of a vehicle and began firing at the pick-up, injuring the officers. The gunmen then snatched two bags, returned to their vehicle and sped off.
Police killed four suspects, Kyle Ramdhan, Keyon Ramdhan, Greg Dodough and Deaundre Montrose, during a shootout after they ran into a property at Pond Street, La Romain
Police caught two other suspects, Christopher Noreiga and Brent Walcott, the following day
Five days ago, investigators arrested soldier Ishmael Salaam, 24, and charged him for his alleged involvement in the incident. The suspects are currently before the San Fernando Magistrates Court
Allied should receive the pre-action protocol letter next week and has 28 days to respond
Maharaj hopes the company will negotiate a settlement, as he believes the families’ claims are unanswerable. He said while the company may take advice from its lawyer and decide to go to court, these matters could take a long time and the claimants could become entitled to interest in the judgement.