A group of former special reserve police (SRP) officers who are still waiting to be paid from a lawsuit they won against the Police Service in 2025 is planning to take their plight to the streets.
In March 2025, High Court judge Joan Charles ruled that the group of some 270 former SRPs was entitled to be paid over $10 million, which had been set aside for them in a Cabinet note after they were absorbed into the police service.
The Cabinet note said the officers – 191 SRPs and 79 police drivers – were being underpaid.
A directive was issued for the officers salaries to be increased and for them to be paid the arrears owed.
But, as of March 30, 2026, the group says they have not been paid. In an interview with News 19 TT, several of the officers, who are now retired, said they were tired of begging for what was due to them. The men asked to remain anonymous.
They said they have been trying to get a meeting with Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro, who was appointed several months after the judgment was handed down.
“We are asking the Commissioner to have a heart,” one said.
“At least, give us a hearing, an honest hearing and give us what is due to us, we not asking for anything more.”
He said many of the officers were waiting for the money to settle major bills.
“Let us settle these payments with mortgage finance, with banks…because it’s not like we’re going to get rich with it, it is what is due to us. It’s for us to live a comfortable life as retirees.”
He said some retirees, like him, have to wait several years before accessing their pensions. He said he was hoping this payout would help him cover his bills in the interim.
Another said as the group continued to enquire about the payment, some were told the money had already been paid. They deny this.
“They said that how we got paid, some of us went and check our banking records from 2000 to now and it shows nowhere, nobody gets no money. A batch of mine say he have all of his payslip from 2000 to now, and he say he not seeing no money on it, so we waiting to hear what day and what month cause most of us have proof that we never get any money.”
Another retired officer said several of his colleagues involved in the case have died. He said their families will now have to pick up the fight to get the arrears owed.
“Their families now have to go through a lengthy process to get the money, the same process that we going through, think about their family going through an even longer process – letter of administration, they going through the courts to get this money – because some of the officers may not have put anything in place because death tells no one when it’s coming.”
He is appealing to Guevarro and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander to approve the payments.
“I would like to appeal to the Commissioner of Police, and now we have a Homeland Security Minister who is a former police officer; I would like to appeal to them to do the correct thing, pay the retirees and the serving members, batch of 2000.
“It’s a hard time, we would have worked, we would have toiled. Certain (members) of our batch worked very hard, they were in certain sections that required 24 (hours) on, 24 off, working.”
He said if their pleas continue to be ignored, they will take to the streets to be heard.
“If is not given to us within a certain time, we would have no other choice but to take to the streets to protest, because we were serving members, we are no longer serving members so we will have to protest to get our money and when we protest, is the whole world will know police work in Trinidad and didn’t get paid.”
News 19 TT sent WhatsApp messages to the Police Commissioner on March 31 and called him several times.
He is yet to respond.
Questions and calls to Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander also went unanswered.
With over a year passed since the ruling, the officers and retirees seem no closer to getting paid or getting answers about what happened to the money allocated to pay them.