Prison officers tell court: No working cameras at MSP

Justice Carol Gobin
Justice Carol Gobin

TWO prison officers gave startling evidence on Wednesday that from 2015 until recently, surveillance cameras at the Maximum Security Prison (MSP) in Arouca were not functioning.

The officers, Julien Baccus and Ernie Bannister, were testifying before Justice Carol Gobin at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain in an assault and battery claim. Four prisoners allege they were beaten by prison guards in the airing yard of the prison.

Adisa James, Nicholas Owen, Kernal Lewis and Quillon Hudson, all of whom were incarcerated at the MSP, claim that on September 21, 2015, while in the airing yard outside building 13 in the remand section, they heard the alarm go off and several guards ordered them to kneel. They claim they were beaten with batons.

They also alleged they were not taken for treatment immediately and this was only done two days later, although they were bleeding and in severe pain. The alleged beating took place after another inmate stabbed James in the shoulder.

The four attached photographs of their injuries and medical certificates to support their claim that they were assaulted by the guards.

In his testimony, Baccus, who was assigned to the MSP in 2015, said the cameras at the airing yard and the cell block corridors of building 13 had not been working for some time.

He said reports would be sent to the commissioner of prisons about things not functioning at the prison but as far as he was aware nothing was fixed despite his complaints.

Baccus said building 13 of the MSP – the most modern prison facility – housed high-risk prisoners, including members of the Rasta City and Muslim gangs, and prison authorities tried to keep them separated.

In June 2015, more than 500 inmates from the Golden Grove remand yard were moved to the MSP because of overcrowding, which caused security issues because of gang affiliation.

In his testimony, Bannister, who is still assigned to the MSP, said from 2015 to recently, the cameras at the airing yard, in the cell blocks and at the big gate at the entrance to the facility were not functioning.

“Just recently they installed new cameras,” he said.

He said supervisors had been told and officers had repeatedly asked for cameras.

Bannister said their complaints were “falling on deaf ears.”

“We complain but nothing comes out of it,” he said.

Also startling was testimony from both Baccus and Bannister that a file containing statements they made immediately after the incident with the prisoners, as required by policy, is missing.

Both men said they sought copies of the statements to prepare their witness statements in defence of the prisoners’ lawsuits, but were told they could not be found. Bannister said after his 20 years as a prison officer, he does not know how a file could go missing. He also said he was unaware of any investigation to find out how the statements went missing.

He also said he sought the daily occurrence book for building 13 in 2015, in which prison officers are to document everything that happens each day, and which would have contained details of the incident involving the prisoners, but was told the book could not be found.

Also “misplaced” were ten use-of-force forms he made out for the ten prisoners allegedly involved in the fracas with the guards.

Both Baccus and Bannister said their witnessPrison officers statements were recalled from memory.

Questioned about the alleged beating, both men denied using excessive force and said their actions were in keeping with prison policies. Baccus even said they “were more or less in the clear after the incident” until the prisoners filed their court action.

They also denied the alleged attack was deliberate. Bannister said on the day, prisoners had improvised weapons, although he could not say where they were. “About three” improvised weapons were taken from the inmates.

Gobin is expected to give her decision on February 18.

The four – one of whom has since been released and another dead – are represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen, Darryl Heeralal, Dayadai Harripaul and Umesh Maharaj. Representing the State are Keith Scotland, Asha Watkins-Montserin, Jacqueline Chang and Keisha Kydd.

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"Prison officers tell court: No working cameras at MSP"

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