Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration) Calvin Brutus has filed a $70 million libel suit against former Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe.
In the legal documents filed at the Demerara High Court, Brutus contends that Slowe published defamatory words concerning him on his Facebook and YouTube pages. According to Brutus, the pages were created shortly after Slowe was charged with three counts of sexual assault and fraud at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The senior Police officer contends that the social media pages were created by Slowe for the sole purpose of attacking the character of officers investigating him for these offences, in an effort to prejudice the investigations.
He complains that since the social media pages were created, defamatory materials about him were published on November 2, 2021, November 22, 2021, December 22 and 29, 2021, and January 5 and 12, 2022.
Brutus argues that, on each occasion, the statements published by Slowe were “deliberate and actuated by malice” and were published in retaliation against the criminal charges instituted against him.
He said the statements were that: he is unfit to be a member of the Police Force; unfit to serve in the rank; is incompetent; was undermining the proper functioning of the Police Force; committed criminal offences punishable by imprisonment; abuses his power and office; is unfit to serve his country as a Police officer; is corrupt, unprofessional, dishonourable; and is a dishonest person who lacks integrity.
As a result of the defamatory publications, Brutus said he has suffered considerable hurt, distress, and embarrassment; is exposed to reputational injury and hurt; has been, and continues to be, demeaned in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public; and has been, and continues to be, demeaned in the eyes of his peers and subordinate ranks of the Guyana Police Force.
Unless restrained by a court of law, Brutus contends that Slowe would further publish the same or similar defamatory statements. As a result, he is asking the court for an injunction restraining Slowe from further speaking or publishing the same or any similar defamatory matters as well as an order compelling him to remove the defamatory publications from the world wide web.