A police officer who sued the Commissioner of Police for unlawfully obtaining a warrant to search his home has won a $200,000 settlement and an admission of wrongdoing.

Sergeant Mark Monk and his wife, Tricia, agreed to the out-of-court payment more than three years after they initiated legal proceedings about the late-night raid, which was carried out during an investigation into a leaked document about the divorce of former police commissioner Stephen Corbishley.

The couple, who were represented by lawyer Victoria Greening in the civil matter, will also have their legal fees paid by the Bermuda Police Service.

The BPS said in a statement: “After a thorough investigation, which included an external review, the BPS has acknowledged that the warrant in question was not properly obtained and was, therefore, unlawful.”

Sergeant Monk told The Royal Gazette that he was pleased that the case was resolved, but added: “No amount of money can fix what they did.”

He said: “Although we have accepted a settlement, it does not fix the three-plus years of suffering and distress. It should not have taken this long to reach a settlement.

“Nothing changed from the time that the unlawful warrant was done until now. There was never any evidence to support an application to obtain a warrant.

“What happened to my wife and me should never have occurred.”

Sergeant Monk said he was wrongly suspected in relation to the leaked divorce document, which was circulated to the entire police service.

He and fellow officer Pc Robert Butterfield had their homes raided in December 2020, with the pair accused of “causing disaffection” in the ranks, an offence under Section 36 of the Police Act 1974, according to the search warrant.

A summary conviction for the crime can result in a $500 fine, a year’s imprisonment or both, while conviction on indictment can lead to a $5,000 fine, five years in jail or both.

The warrant was issued by senior magistrate Juan Wolffe, who is now a puisne judge, after being approved by Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The month after the raid, Mr Corbishley instructed his personal lawyer to write to Sergeant Monk and Pc Butterfield warning them that they would be sued unless they paid him compensation for causing “serious harm” to his reputation and “significant personal anxiety and distress” by allegedly making public a confidential court document.

Sergeant Monk and Pc Butterfield were later told that they would face no charges in relation to the criminal inquiry into the accusations.

Sergeant Monk claimed that the warrant was obtained because of a wrong assumption that he had “done something that exposed” Mr Corbishley’s personal life and not because of any actual evidence.

He said that was concerning because hundreds of warrants were obtained by the BPS every year, but most people affected would be unaware of the proper “system and processes”.

Rena Lalgie, the Governor, initiated an inquiry into allegations of gross misconduct made by Pc Butterfield against Mr Corbishley.

The inquiry was dropped after Mr Corbishley, who denied any wrongdoing, quit the BPS in October 2021 and returned to Britain.

Complaints were served formally on four BPS officers arising from claims made by the two officers about the warrant. The four, who deny wrongdoing, include a senior officer and an inspector.

Sergeant Monk and his wife are still due to stand trial in Magistrates’ Court for allegedly harassing Mr Corbishley, now a university lecturer, and Gillian Murray, a British officer who was brought in to head the BPS’s professional standards department.

Pc Butterfield, who also filed civil proceedings in February 2021 over the warrant, said he had not yet resolved his issue with the BPS.

“They have not approached me since the last offer,” he said. The last offer was rejected.

Pc Butterfield claimed that the police were stalling because a court date had yet to be set for his judicial review, adding that it was “preposterous”.

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, said: “We are the police. A warrant is a highly intrusive action. We recognise the importance of getting it right every time.

“We are reviewing our warrant processes and have committed to additional training to ensure best practice is consistently followed.”

The commissioner said there would be no further comment because of “ongoing elements” related to the case.

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