The state has to pay over $140,000 in damages to a Marabella man who was wrongfully arrested and kept in police custody for six days.
Justice Robin Mohammed awarded the compensation and costs to Anthony Morgan, who had sued the Attorney General for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
Morgan was kept in police custody for six days and then released without being charged. He filed a claim in the San Fernando High Court through his attorney Kevin Ratiram in February 2019, but the matter did not go to trial.
In November 2020, the judge upheld Ratiram’s application to strike out the defence as it disclosed no grounds in law for bringing the defence and ordered summary judgment in Morgan’s favour.
According to the statement of case and other submissions, around 11 am on September 15, 2017, Morgan was at his home when a group of police officers entered and two of the officers pushed him against a wall.
He claimed other officers pointed a gun at his head in front of his five-year-old son, his one-month-old baby and his wife. Morgan said he was arrested and taken outside in full view of his neighbours and placed in a hot police vehicle.
About half an hour later, another person was placed in the vehicle with him and they were taken to the Marabella Police Station, where he was placed in a hot cell with four other persons.
He claimed the cell was filthy, with a hole in the ground for a toilet which smelt of human waste.
Morgan said he was not allowed to speak with his attorney and that he had to sleep on the floor of the cell.
He said on September 19, he was taken to the San Fernando Police Station where he was placed in a cell and interviewed by police the following day. On September 21, he was released without charge.
In assessing damages, the judge said Morgan had described the experience as traumatic as he was away from his family and that he knew he did nothing wrong.
“From the facts of this case, the Claimant suffered loss of liberty, injury to his feelings, physical injury, that is, the discomfort resulting from the detention and loss of injury to his reputation. He would have been away from his home for a total of six days and 11 hours. Based on his evidence he was only told of the reason for his arrest during the interview, not when he was arrested,” the judge said.
Morgan was awarded general damages amounting to $130,000 for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment, with an uplift in the award for aggravated damages. Pre-judgment interest on general damages was also awarded at the rate of 2.5 per cent per annum from the date of the filing of the claim to the assessment, for $16,740. The state was also ordered to pay 60 per cent of Morgan’s prescribed costs on the claim up to the assessment of damages and he is also entitled to recover costs of the Notice of Application to strike out the defence.