Court awards policeman $.2m

- File photo
- File photo

FOR the second time in as many years, a policeman who was detained by his colleagues in the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) has been awarded compensation by a high court judge.

On Wednesday, Justice Margaret Mohammed ordered the State to pay Cpl Keston Garcia, who is assigned to the Sangre Grande police station, a total of $210,000 for general and exemplary damages as a means of punishing and deterring the State from such future conduct.

In 2018, Garcia, who was detained for 49 hours on suspicion of being involved in the theft of 14 cases of vodka in 2012, was awarded $72,085 in compensation by Justice Nadia Kangaloo.

She held that the police did not have reasonable cause to suspect that Garcia had committed the alleged offence of robbery.

In the case before Mohammed, she also made the same findings in relation to Garcia's being held for five days and 14 hours on suspicion of being involved in an alleged robbery and kidnapping which took place on September 3, 2014.

Garcia said he was on duty at the Sangre Grande police station on that day and provided the station’s duty roster to support his claim.

In November 7, 2014, he and his attorney went to the Arima police station to clear his name, but he was arrested and put in a cell before being moved to the Pinto Road police post.

Two days later, he was taken to the La Horquetta police station, where he was again kept in a cell, but not questioned. Four days after his arrest, Garcia was put on an identification parade. He was not identified.

The next day a Sgt Hosten told him the police were going to search his home and go to the Director of Public Prosecutions for instructions.

Nothing illegal was found during the search and later that night he was released from police custody.

Garcia, in his witness statement, said he had to seek treatment for mental distress and anxiety, was removed from the Eastern Division Task Force without reason and has never faced disciplinary proceedings.

He told Newsday, shortly after the judge gave her order, that his trust in the police was breached because of what he has had to endure.

Garcia also said he continues to suffer discrimination and victimisation in the police service, as his colleagues would refer to him as “the ole-thief corporal from Valencia.”

He said, “I have been a well-known police officer for a period of over 20 years and because of this incident, my colleagues have treated me like a criminal, a rogue police officer and, whenever I visit any of the police stations in which I was detained, my colleagues would watch me in a demeaning manner and avoid me.”

Garcia, of Sandstone Extension East, Demerara Heights, Wallerfield, said he is also shunned in his neighbourhood.

He was represented by attorneys Abdel Mohammed and Shabaana Mohammed. The State was represented by attorney Kezia Redhead.

Comments

"Court awards policeman $.2m"

More in this section