The Supreme Courtroom has overturned disciplinary actions taken in opposition to Constable Miskha Sterling-Gibson, ruling that senior members of the Jamaica Constabulary Drive (JCF) acted outdoors their authority after she appeared in a viral TikTok video whereas in uniform.
In an order issued on January 15, the court docket discovered that Sterling-Gibson was punished twice for a similar incident, together with being unlawfully confined for six months on the Nationwide Police School of Jamaica. Justice Tania Mott Tulloch-Reid dominated that Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Stewart breached Police Service Laws by ordering confinement past the utmost three days allowed.
The court docket additionally held that then Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps exceeded his powers by imposing an extra sanction at an orderly room listening to on March 22, 2024, regardless of an earlier penalty having already been utilized. Each disciplinary choices had been quashed, with the court docket declaring that the constable had totally happy any lawful sanction arising from the incident.
The disciplinary matter stemmed from a January 2024 TikTok video displaying three uniformed officers making satirical remarks about public perceptions of policing. Sterling-Gibson was later charged with breaches of the JCF’s social media coverage and conduct bringing the power into disrepute.
She later sought judicial assessment after her attorneys challenged the method with out response. The court docket finally agreed that the actions of senior officers had been illegal. The opposite two officers concerned accepted comparable penalties and didn’t contest the matter.
