Teen wins lawsuit after police beating

A TEENAGER who was forced to strip his clothing before being beaten by policemen with a bullpistle has won a lawsuit he brought against the Attorney General against the group of police officers who beat him. The State conceded to pay damages to 18-year-old Devon Sookdeo of Goodwill Road, Enterprise, Chaguanas, when the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday before Justice Charmaine Pemberton in the San Fernando Chamber Court. State attorney Sanjeev Lalla told Pemberton that the State would accept liability for injuries suffered by Sookdeo and entered into a consent order to pay the damages.

The teenager suffered cuts on his back and bruises on his buttocks and legs as a result of the beating by the policemen with a bullpistle. Commenting after the victory in court, Sookdeo’s attorney, Anand Ramlogan, said, “The physical abuse of this young victim of police brutality seeks to highlight the barbaric attitude that some police officers take on poor people in the rural parts of our country.” However, Ramlogan said that the victory was only the first step towards addressing the problem of police brutality. He said, “Winning this case will not bring any change to society unless the Police Service Commission initiates action against these officers.”

The Attorney General was sued pursuant to the provisions of the State Liability and Proceedings Act, in his capacity as the legal representative of the State, the employer of police officers in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. According to the statement of claim filed by attorney Narendra Lalbeharry in the Sub-registry, San Fernando, Sookdeo stated that on July 13, 2004, at 11.30 pm, he was unlawfully arrested and detained by a group of police officers, including PCs Adams, Calliste and Valdez, attached to the Chaguanas Police Station. Sookdeo stated that he was handcuffed at his home and taken to the Chaguanas Police Station where he was beaten and put in a cell at midnight.

Sookdeo said for the next six and a half hours he remained in the cell and “had no choice but to sit on the cold, hard, dirty, urine-soaked floor,” until he was released the next morning. Nearly two weeks later, on July 26 at 1.40 am, Sookdeo stated, the same police officers came to his home and unlawfully arrested him. The teenager said the policemen again took him to the Chaguanas Police Station where he was beaten by police constables Valdez, Adams and Calliste. Sookdeo said he was ordered to take off his tee-shirt and pull down his pants as the police officers began to beat him about his body with the bullpistle and other devices. After the beating, Sookdeo said he was thrown back into the prison cell and “left to suffer.” The policemen later charged him with possession of marijuana and threatened that he should plead guilty in court to the offence.