EDITORIAL
Back on August 25th 2017 Cayman Marl Road ran an exclusive story on Cory Martinson, then-Acting Deputy Information Commissioner and Senior Appeals and Policy Analyst for the Cayman Islands Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) facing various charges in the Cayman Islands Court.
There were 5 separate criminal charges pending in the Cayman Islands court system. The charges range from damage to property, disorderly conduct, resisting a police officer, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
At the next court hearing several days later he plead guilty to damaging a police vehicle and remained at work until early last month when he was finally placed on administrative leave. It appears Martinson continues to have good fortune as he has once again escaped any serious consequences for his actions. In fact, Martinson has recently been ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and pay $500 toward the costs of prosecution and will have no convictions recorded.
Defense attorney John Furniss spoke on behalf of Martinson and indicated that he was having issues with a “traumatic divorce”. He further claimed to be taking medication which was then supposedly combined with alcohol.
The charges stem from at least two separate instances. The first one on Dec. 9, 2016 when Martinson damaged a door at the Jungle Bar and Lounge by kicking in a pane of glass in the door. The damage was valued at $230.
On Dec. 29, police received a report from a female tourist who had been snorkeling along Seven Mile Beach. She said a man had run directly at her and then attempted to jump on her. He then swam off toward a vessel about 400 feet offshore. She was distressed by the incident.
Police arrived and saw a man – Martinson – aboard the vessel and he appeared to be scattering items around. The officers attempted to procure a police vessel to go out, but none was available. Officers then approached a private citizen who had a boat nearby and they requested his assistance.
They went out and attempted to speak with the defendant, but he jumped into the water and began swimming away. The officers apprehended him “with some effort,” Mr. Walcolm noted. In the exchange, Martinson used disorderly language and told officers, “Nobody gives a damn any more.”
On shore, Martinson head-butted a police vehicle twice, causing $580 worth of damage. The magistrate said someone as intelligent as the defendant would have known not to combine alcohol with his prescribed medication. Mr. Furniss suggested that this action showed his state of mind at the time.
Mr. Furniss asked for a special result, given the “profound effect” these incidents could have on Martinson’s future. Clearly, Martinson had no regard for his own future.
A letter of support from his employer was also provided. Given that this was not a single incident but multiple ones it seems difficult to understand how Martinson can explain his behavior away so easily. It's also amazing that his employer would be prepared to ignore these issues for months before they were made public. Only after it was exposed was he then slightly demoted and almost 2 months later placed on administrative leave with full pay.
Everyone deserves a second chance but Matrinson appears to have the golden touch -now with multiple chances.
For an office that prides itself on having a reputation of trust and for assisting members of the public one could easily see how the public would now question the fairness of continuing to deal with Martinson in his senior capacity. One could also appreciate the lack of respect that co-workers and subordinates would also have for him.
The court seems unaware that he had similar charges in the United States as well and merely paid an administrative fee there also.
Note: The office of the Ombudsmen is not part of central government and therefore has its own human resources guidelines and rules.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid