A police officer who saw his police booking photo on several media sites is maintaining that this dissemination of his mugshot has violated his right to privacy.
Acting Cpl Narindra Beharry is now suing the State for the alleged breaches of his constitutional rights.
In January, Beharry was charged with assaulting a civilian at the Valencia police post on July 3, 2022.
Officers of the Professional Standards Bureau photographed him after he was charged, which he acknowledged was the standard procedure under the Police Service Act, which permits the taking of a photograph of someone who has been charged, for identification purposes.
Beharry said after he appeared in court virtually, he was shocked to see his mugshot in circulation in the print, television and social media, as well as on the police service’s Beyond the Tape television programme.
Beharry’s photograph accompanied a media release sent by the police communications department on January 13, 2023.
He says the mugshot is still in circulation on the internet.
Beharry is now asking the court to declare that this publication or dissemination of his mugshot is in contravention of his rights and that the police media policy on the circulation of information of those charged with criminal offences, including their name, address and mugshot, infringes the rights of citizens. He also wants compensation for the publishing of his photograph.
On Monday, his lawsuit came up for hearing before Justice Frank Seepersad, who raised concerns over the case.
"Is there legislation that prevents the circulation of such information?" Seepersad asked Beharry’s attorney, Kelson Pope.
Although admitting that there was none, Pope said his client was contending that the practice breached Section 50 of the Police Service Act, which permits the police to take photographs of those charged with criminal offences and allows the police commissioner to retain the photographs even if the subject is eventually freed.
The legislation "outlines that they (photographs) are to be used for identification purposes," Pope said.
Seepersad adjourned the matter to October.
Beharry said in an affidavit to support his lawsuit: "The publication of the information surrounding the charges against me has caused me significant anxiety, distress, and humiliation. I truly feel that everyone is talking about me in a negative way.
“Not only is the sharing of the information about my charges by the TTPS unlawful, it is also deeply unfair to me since I am presumed innocent. I intend to resume my work as a police officer once I am cleared of these charges and the existence of this information on the internet will not only be forever embarrassing to me but also to the service.”
Beharry contends that the police’s policy of disseminating the mugshots of police officers charged with criminal offences is discriminatory, since it is not done in certain “high-profile” cases, citing examples.
"I find it deeply unfair that certain high-profile figures can escape the embarrassment of having th
