THE Judicial Review Court has upheld a decision by the Court of Appeal to retire 11 narcotics cops in the public interest.

However, attorney Arthur Kitchen, legal counsel for the embattled policemen and women, yesterday gave notice that he would be appealing the ruling handed down Thursday by Justice Marva McIntosh, and said that he was prepared to take the matter to the Privy Council in London, as the cops were not charged nor were they given a chance to clear their names.

The 11 cops – Detective Sergeant Dalton Samuels, Corporal Norma Porter-Thaxter, Detective Corporal Ryan Dwyer, Corporal Enos Williams, Corporal Teeshan Gordon, Corporal Joy Streete, Constable Kenneth Brown, Constable Oral Hylton, Constable Owen Condell, Constable Dwayne Mullings, and Constable Elvid Vassell – were in November 2005 retired from the constabulary amid allegations that they were involved in drug running.

The narcotics cops argued that because the allegations against them were criminal in nature, the disciplinary process should have been used under the regulations, as against retirement in the public interest.

In November last year, the Court of Appeal said the Police Services Commission could take steps to retire persons in the public interest where it was not appropriate to take disciplinary procedures. It also said the fact that the allegations could have led to criminal charges was not in itself a reason why the matter had to go by way of disciplinary proceedings.

The ruling by Justice McIntosh followed a similar decision last November by the Court of Appeal, which upheld a decision by the Police Services Commission to retire a policeman in the public interest after allegations that he had taken a bribe.

Yesterday, Security Minister Peter Phillips, in welcoming the ruling against the 11 narcotics cops, said the court’s decision has helped to strengthen the resolve of the Ministry of National Security to effectively deal with discipline and fight corruption in the constabulary.

The Police Services Commission was on Thursday represented by Solicitor-General Michael Hylton, QC; Symone Mayhew; and Amina Maknoon.