A senior Guyanese police officer facing a slew of corruption and fraud charges has now sued the state for $8 million, blaming it for an uncomfortable rise in racial tensions between officers and ranks of African and Indian descent and for fostering an uncomfortable working environment.
Calvin Brutus, a former acting deputy commission for administration, says his 2024 transfer from the number two position as administrator to head of the lightly regarded Special Branch was motivated by politics and a plan by the Indo-led governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to remove or sideline Afro and other officers from top positions and replace them with those of Indian extraction.
In a recently filed writ, Brutus claimed that Commissioner Clifton Hicken told him last July that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had directed that he be transferred to the special branch to allow Assistant Commissioner Ravi Budhram to replace him and gain administrative experience at his expense.
“The claimant was instructed to pack up his things and that a letter would follow soon thereafter. The claimant expressed his dissatisfaction to the commissioner of police at the decision, who assured him that it would not impact his upward mobility. The decision to have the claimant replaced by Budhram was based on race,” Brutus argued through Attorney Darren Wade, noting that he was told the transfer would not affect future promotions.
The lawsuit also claimed that the Irfaan Ali administration told Brutus and other top officers in late 2020 that the government had a plan to implement a diversity policy linked to the Force’s structure regarding recruitment, promotions, training opportunities, and other perks, but this has worked against officers and ranks mainly of African descent.
“This policy was immediately discriminatory to members of the Force of African descent as the Force’s ethnic composition did not mirror that of the Guyanese population. It is estimated that 90 % of the members of the Force are Afro-Guyanese. In the immediate aftermath of the policy, unqualified officers of the Force were seen ascending to positions and opportunities ahead of other officers, who were more suitably qualified because of their race. The result of the policy was to line up officers of East Indian descent for top positions in the Force,” Attorney Wade said in his affidavit.
Brutus’s suit is one of several he has filed since the state slapped several fraud charges against him and removed him from duty mid-last year. Brutus is facing more than 200 charges in court linked to alleged abuses of his authority and office while acting as deputy commission for administration.
