The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Supreme Court has ruled that two police officers were unlawfully arrested and detained during a 2022 drug investigation in Acklins, finding that their constitutional right to liberty was breached.

Justice Cheryl Bazard KC found that Arnold Cooper and Brandon Dean were effectively under arrest after police removed them from duty, searched their homes and transported them from Acklins to Nassau.

The judge said police had reasonable grounds to investigate the officers in connection with the drug matter but failed to tell them they were under arrest or explain the grounds for their arrest.

The officers were taken to Spring Point Police Station before being flown to Nassau and held at the Drug Enforcement Unit. They said their movements and communication were restricted and that they were treated as suspects. Mr Cooper also said he was unable to have a private meeting with his attorney. Both men were eventually released without being charged.

Chief Superintendent Roberto Goodman denied that the men had been arrested, saying they had accompanied him to Nassau under a lawful order. The judge rejected that position, finding that the officers were not free to leave and were under police control.

Justice Bazard said an arrest does not require handcuffs or formal paperwork, adding that the key issue is whether a person's freedom has been restricted.

The judge also found that the officers suffered reputational harm after police announced that three officers had been arrested in connection with the drug investigation. Although Mr Cooper and Mr Dean were not named, she said they could be identified by people in the small Acklins community.

The court ruled that Mr Cooper and Mr Dean are entitled to damages for their unlawful arrest, loss of liberty and reputational harm. The amount of damages will be determined by the Registrar. Legal costs were also awarded to the officers.