An electrical engineer who was assaulted by police before they arrested his brother for questioning about an alleged plot to disrupt Carnival celebrations in 2018, has been awarded more than $80,000 in compensation by the High Court.
High Court judge Westmin James found that the police found that the police unlawfully entered and searched Wasim Mohammed’s apartment at Mohammedville, El Socorro, on February 8, 2018, assaulted him, and falsely imprisoned him during a raid targeting someone else.
James found that the police acted outside the bounds of the law when they broke down Mohammed’s door at 3 am, restrained him with tie straps in front of his wife and child, and punched him in the face—despite the fact that the warrant was for his brother, who lived in a separate upstairs apartment at the same address.
“The entry of the claimant’s apartment was unlawful, thereby constituting a trespass,” Justice James said. “There was no legal justification for that detention.”
James rejected the State’s claim that the warrant authorised a search of the entire compound.
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“Search warrants, as instruments enabling state entry into an individual’s home, must be drafted with precision.
“This ensures that such entry is lawful, thereby preventing state overreach or abuse, and safeguarding the sanctity of a person’s home.
“The law requires that search warrants be executed with specificity and restraint, and extending the scope of a warrant to encompass unrelated dwellings within the same compound would amount to an unlawful overreach of police powers.” In deciding the case, James added, “The police cannot rely on an implied power to legitimise conduct that occurred in furtherance of an unlawful act.”
James also pointed out that while the police claimed officers had “intelligence” about his relative, such allegations did not confer a power to arrest or detain Mohammed.
The judge also found that Mohammed was falsely imprisoned and forcibly restrained on the floor, bound in tie straps.
“These features of the arrest and detention go beyond a mere technical breach of the claimant’s liberty. They introduce an element of humiliation and indignity that the law recognises as aggravating…”
He also accepted Mohammed’s version of events, finding that he was punched by a police officer and not, as the State claimed, accidentally injured by a door.
James also said the case warranted exemplary damages to deter future abuses, while criticised the State’s conduct as oppressive, stating, “The unlawful use of force by an agent of the State is serious and warrants judicial censure.
“The officers’ conduct was not merely negligent but demonstrated a blatant abuse of power, particularly given the force used and the prolonged restraint in front of the claimant’s family.
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“The police entered the claimant’s home without justification, assaulted him, restrained him with tie straps for an extended period, and searched his apartment in the absence of any legal basis.”
The State was also ordered to pay interest and legal costs of $21,448.33.
Mohammed’s younger brother, Tariq, who was also arrested but detained for several days before being released without being charged, also filed a separate wrongful arrest and false imprisonment claim which is set to go on trial before another judge on May 29.
Attorneys Kingsley Walesby, Alvin Ramroop and Sarfraz Alsaran represented Mohammed while Russell Martineau, SC, Sanjeev Lalla, Coreen Findley and Brent James represented the State.
