(Trinidad Guardian) A 24-year-old gardener from Sangre Grande, who was shot after he cursed a police officer who was moonlighting as a bouncer, before being charged with assaulting the same officer, is set to receive almost $400,000 in compensation.
High Court Judge Frank Seepersad ordered the compensation for Avian Remy, of Vega de Oropuche, after upholding his assault and battery, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment lawsuit at the end of a virtual trial, yesterday afternoon.
According to the evidence in the case, the incident occurred on April 15, 2015, as Remy went with friends to celebrate one of their birthdays at a nightclub in Sangre Grande.
The group of friends were initially denied entry as some of them, excluding Remy, had on slippers in contravention of the club’s dress code policy.
The group was eventually let in and Remy soon met a girl and began dancing.
The bouncer, who initially denied them entry and who was later identified as PC Anthony Prince, allegedly walked up to Remy, grabbed him by his jacket and dragged him to a corner of the club.
Testifying before Seepersad yesterday, Remy admitted that he cursed the bouncer after he was manhandled and was slapped several times.
The bouncer then claimed he was a police officer, drew a revolver and shot Remy once in his abdomen.
Remy was taken to hospital and was warded for several days under police guard before he was released into police custody.
He was kept in a holding cell at the Sangre Grande Police Station for three days before he was charged with assaulting PC Prince.
The charge was eventually dismissed in September 2017 after Prince and the police officer, who charged him, repeatedly missed court hearings.
In assessing the evidence in the case, Seepersad ruled that the testimony given by Remy and one of his friends who witnessed the incident was highly plausible.
He also expressed concern over the fact that Prince was not called as a defence witness in the case after the Office of the Attorney General did not deny liability based on fact that he was not on active duty at the time of the incident.
“The Court has significant concerns as to why he (Prince) was there and why he was there with presumably a service revolver at the time,” Seepersad said.
He also ruled that there was no reasonable basis for Prince to draw his firearm and discharge it as he was clearly not acting in self-defence.
“Police officers have no inherent power or authority to shoot any citizen who he comes into contact with and has a confrontation,” Seepersad said.
He noted that police officers should have a measured and calculated approach to discharging their firearms towards citizens and such should be done only when absolutely necessary to protect their lives and those of other citizens.
Seepersad also criticised the police officer, who charged Remy and testified before him yesterday, for apparently rushing the investigation and improperly using a confrontation as opposed to an identification parade to identify Remy.
“It seems more likely than not that the charges were rushed to be instituted because a citizen had been shot by an officer,” Seepersad said.
In assessing the compensation for Remy’s assault and battery, Seepersad noted that while Remy claimed that he still suffers pain and discomfort while bending.
Seepersad suggested that $200,000 in damages were appropriate in the circumstances of Remy not claiming loss of earnings.
Seepersad also awarded $100,000 in damages for malicious prosecution and $55,000 for false imprisonment.
He also ordered $20,000 in exemplary damages to highlight the court’s disapproval over the arbitrary and high-handed actions of officers of the State.
However, Seepersad suggested that there be legislative changes to make such errant officers pay such compensation themselves as opposed to taxpayers through the AG’s Office.
“The best deterrent is when persons who have offended feel it in their respective pockets,” Seepersad said, as he suggested that the current system has been ineffective in causing a culture change in such officers.
Seepersad also suggested that consideration be given to offering psychological and emotive training and assistance to officers to help them cope with the high-stress environment in which they operate.
As part of his judgement, Seepersad directed the High Court Registrar to send the judgement to the Police Commissioner and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) for them to consider what disciplinary action, if any, could be pursued against Prince.
He ordered that the State pay his legal costs for bringing the lawsuit, and the $22,500 in legal fees his mother incurred for defending the short-lived assault charge.
Remy was represented by Tim Charriandy and Reynold Waldropt, while Stefan Jaikaran represented the State.