6 months' leave for policeman hurt by falling Red House gate

THE police officer who was pinned to the ground after a gate at the Red House fell on him last month may walk with a limp for the rest of his life. The incident reportedly tore his thigh muscle from the bone.

On Valentine's Day, PC Preetum Ramdass was on duty at about 8 pm when he was instructed to help WPC Brenda Boucaud close the gate on St Vincent Street side of the Parliament's precincts.

As he was about to do so, the gate came off its rails and fell on him, pinning him to the ground as Boucaud tried to lift the gate off him. Another officer, WPC Shanice Campbell, and a passing cyclist came to help and Ramdass was able to wriggle out from under the iron gate.

Parliamentary sources told Newsday that since the incident the gate, which “used to give trouble,” has had a steel rod attached to stabilise it and prevent it from falling again. A video of the incident went viral days after it happened.

Police assigned to the Parliament said Ramdass’s injuries were more severe than originally reported. Ramdass, who has been assigned to the Parliament for the past seven years, had surgery last week and is expected to be home for the next six months recuperating.

“People looking at the video not realising the seriousness of his injuries. This man could not walk properly for a while and from what I was told, he may have to walk with a limp. The muscle tore off from his bone on the left thigh. Almost all of it, I think he said 80 per cent of the muscle rip off the bone.”

The source added that Ramdass spent a week at the Port of Spain General Hospital complaining of pain in the leg, dizziness and headaches before he went to a private doctor. There his injuries were detected after he underwent an MRI.

Both Boucaud and Campbell also hadt MRIs. Boucaud, who will returnto work on Friday, injured her lower back. The source said she has to have six months of physiotherapy to undergo and if that does not correct the injuries to her vertebrae, she will need to have the surgery done.

Boucaud suffered nerve damage which led to tingling in the toes, abdominal pain, headaches and dizziness.

Campbell, whose injuries were the least serious, complained of pains in her shoulder and was given pain medication as well as sick leave and she too will return to work on March 29.

The officers, who are all Special Reserve Police (SRP), are being paid and their medical expenses covered by Parliament. Usually SRPs are not paid for days they do not work.

Newsday contacted Parliament’s corporate communications department to ask who was the contractor responsible for installing the gate and the status of the injured officers, but was told the matter is still being investigated, so no further comment could be made.

The Red House was restored and reopened in January last year at a cost of $441 million after well over a decade of restoration.

Four days after it was reopened, rain exposed leaks in the roof, which were later fixed.

The project was broken up into 22 components, tendered separately to all-local contractors and managed by Udecott.

The construction works package breakdown on Udecott’s website identified NH International (Caribbean) Ltd and Fides Ltd as being responsible for external works, which cost nearly $28 million.