Gasparillo electrician sues cops

ARRESTED, beaten up, then thrown in a drain by police without being charged with any offence, is the allegation made in a lawsuit by Gasparillo electrician Ricky Winston Samuel. The 28-year-old man, who spent three days in hospital for the injuries, is at a loss as to why he was meted out such treatment while standing in front of a bar in Gasparillo recently.

Filed in the Sub-Registry in San Fernando last week, Samuel gave an account in a writ of how  he was confronted by two plainclothes policemen in front of Anil’s Bar along the Gasparillo Main Road on December 10. The writ, filed against the two policemen, alleged that a white Hyundai car pulled alongside him and his friends. Samuel contended that he was thrown on the ground then cuffed and kicked by two men who he later learned were policemen. And during the attack, he stated, one of them held him to the ground while the other officer beat him with a piece of wood. “The other officer mocked and jeered while I was being beaten,” Samuel stated.

Alleging that the attack on him was unprovoked, Samuel stated in his writ that he has never been charged with any offence. Since the incident, he added, he has not been able to work. He stated that he was in fear of his life and has not walked the streets of Gasparillo since the incident. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Mark Seepersad and Gerald Ramdeen, is seeking to have the State pay Samuel damages, exemplary damages and compensation.