Senior Cop Wins Case Against Dominica Government

ROSEAU, Dominica, June23, (CMC) – A senior police officer, today, won a major court battle against the state ,after being charged following an incident in November 2013.

The police report that in 2015, Sergeant Philbert Bertrand was arrested and charged in connection with an incident in which a man – Curvin Colaire, was shot by the senior cop on November 14, 2013.

On that day, Bertrand’s colleagues responded to reports that Colaire was armed with the weapon in the community and was involved in an altercation with someone.

On their arrival, the police charged Colaire for being armed with an offensive weapon.

Following investigations, in 2015, Bertrand was arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Colaire.

Stemming from this, Bertrand was placed on leave with half pay by the Police Service Commission.

However, today, a resident Magistrate upheld a “no case submission” put forward by the defense for Bertrand.

Earlier this week the defence said the cop did not have a case to answer, because the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against his client.