Inmate awarded $150k for broken leg, faeces 'bath'

News Jada Loutoo 17 Hrs Ago

Attorneys Joseph Sookoo, Bernadette Arneaud and Amit Mahabir at the Waterfront Judicial Centre, Port of Spain. - Anygraaf Guest Account

A High Court judge ruled that prison officers used excessive force against an inmate after a dispute at the Golden Grove Prison, awarding damages for injuries that included a fractured tibia and fibula.

Justice Carol Gobin found that although Kurt Christopher Bridgelal initiated an assault by throwing the contents of a slop pail, the response by a prison officer. who retaliated by throwing multiple pails containing urine and faeces, used excessive and unreasonable force.

After entering judgment for Bridgelal, Justice Gobin ordered the State to pay general damages of $115,000 and exemplary damages of $35,000. The court also awarded interest from July 4 to December 18.

In his lawsuit, Bridgelal alleged assault, battery and negligence by prison officers while he was a remand prisoner at Golden Grove Prison in Arouca.

According to the evidence accepted by the court, the incident occurred on July 4, 2015, during a prison search and lockdown. After being denied permission to exit his cell to bathe or use a pail, Bridgelal threw the contents of a pail from his cell, some of which landed on a prison officer. The officer retaliated by throwing three pails of urine and faeces at Bridgelal.

The court further found that when Bridgelal was later escorted from his cell, officers used unreasonable force that escalated beyond what was necessary to maintain order. Bridgelal sustained serious injuries during the encounter, including fractures to his right tibia and fibula, and required hospital treatment and prolonged immobilisation in a cast. A trial was held in July, at which the State was found liable for the prison officers’ actions.

The State denied most of the allegations, contending that any force used was reasonable and that Bridgelal’s injuries resulted from a fall while attempting to break free from officers. Justice Gobin rejected that account, concluding that the officers’ conduct amounted to excessive force in the circumstances.

Bridgelal was represented by Amit Mahabir, Bernadette Arneaud, and Joseph Sookoo.