Prison officer’s mutiny case postponed

Suspended prison officer Trevor Browne is concerned that resumption of the court case brought against him by his boss Superintendent John Nurse did not take place today as scheduled.

Browne, who is facing four charges related to inciting mutiny or sedition at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds, St Philip, turned up this morning at the Magistrates’ court in Cane Garden, St Thomas, only to be given a tentative date of April 1 for the matter to continue.

Browne, who is on $1,000 bail declined to spell out the reasons given to him.

Prison Superintendent Nurse, who was on the witness stand when the hearing adjourned some three weeks ago and was slated to continue testifying today, was not present this morning.

Browne, the president of the Prison Officers’ Association of Barbados, first appeared in court in early December 2018 accused of encouraging other prison officers to stage a sickout at the prison.

The warden, with more than 35 years’ of service under his belt, is charged that between May 1 and May 9, he maliciously endeavoured to seduce fellow officers David Davis, Ophneal Austin, Shanell Ellis-Vaughn and Stephenson Trotman from their duties. The charges stem from claims that he tried to encourage those prison staffers to stage a sickout.

If convicted, he faces up to one year in the same jail where he earns his living.

Browne was charged under Section 27, Chapter 168 of the Prison Act which states that any person who, directly or indirectly, instigates, commands, counsels or solicits any meeting, sedition or disobedience to any lawful command of a prison officer to any other prison officer, or maliciously endeavors to seduce any prison officer from his allegiance or duty, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of one year.

This same Act also explains that its provisions cover persons who incite or abet desertion and sedition.

Sedition refers to conduct or speech which incites persons to rebel against authority. This rebellion may encourage insurrection against the established order or resistance against established authority.

The suspended prison officer is represented by Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim with support from Prison Officers’ Association Industrial Relations Consultant Senator Caswell Franklyn. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb