Court rules cop unlawfully punished twice over TikTok video

A woman constable who was disciplined after appearing in a viral TikTok video while in uniform has won her case against senior members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The Supreme Court ruled that she was unlawfully punished twice, including being subjected to an illegal six-month confinement at the police training school.

In a formal order issued on January 15, the Supreme Court found that Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Stewart acted outside the scope of the Police Service Regulations when he ordered Constable Miskha Sterling-Gibson to undergo confinement training at the National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ) for longer than the maximum three days allowed.

The court also ruled that Senior Superintendent of Police Michael Phipps, as he then was, exceeded his authority by imposing a further punishment on Sterling-Gibson at an orderly room hearing on March 22, 2024, despite her having already been sanctioned for the same incident.

Justice Tania Mott Tulloch-Reid said both disciplinary decisions, “having been quashed, it is hereby declared that the claimant had already served the sanction legitimately arising from the social media video that gave rise to this sanction and is not liable to serve any further punishment in relation hereto”.

‘I am a police officer’

The disciplinary action stemmed from a TikTok video posted in January 2024 showing three uniformed police officers making light of public perceptions of the police. In the clip, the officers joked: “I am a police officer in Jamaica, of course mi a go skip the KCF [line]. I am a police officer, criminals going escape in nearby bushes. I am a police officer, mi a go use the siren get out a traffic.”

According to Sterling-Gibson’s affidavit dated January 29, 2024, Deputy Commissioner Stewart ordered her to return to the NPCJ for six months of confinement shortly after the video began circulating online.

Two days later, she was served with unsigned charge sheets alleging breaches of the JCF’s social media policy and conduct bringing the force into disrepute.

She was summoned to an orderly room hearing on February 2, 2024, where she pleaded not guilty and requested disclosure. Despite this, she remained confined at the NPCJ under strict conditions, including being barred from leaving the compound from Sunday evenings to Saturday mornings.

After receiving disclosure on March 8, 2024, Sterling-Gibson appeared at a further orderly room hearing on March 22, where she pleaded guilty and was sanctioned with the loss of one day’s pay.

Her attorneys later wrote to the Office of the Commissioner of Police challenging the disciplinary process but received no substantive response.

Sterling-Gibson then sought judicial review, arguing that senior officers had acted beyond their powers and that she had been punished twice for the same offence.

In March 2025, Justice David Staple granted leave for the matter to proceed. The judicial review was heard in November 2025, with the court ultimately agreeing that the punishments were unlawful.

The other two officers involved pleaded guilty and accepted similar sanctions, but did not challenge the disciplinary actions.

Sterling-Gibson was represented by attorneys Matthew Hyatt, Jabari Phillips and Tahriah Anson, instructed by Knight, Junor and Samuels, while Robert Clarke, instructed by the acting director of state proceedings, represented the senior officers.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com