State to pay Claxton Bay man again over wrongful robbery arrest

A Claxton Bay man will receive compensation from the state for the fourth time in eight years after being wrongfully arrested by police in 2016 for a robbery he did not commit, despite video evidence proving he was not at the scene.

Justice Kevin Ramcharan ordered compensation for Mark Hagley after finding police had no reasonable or probable cause to arrest him.

“His arrest and subsequent detention were therefore unlawful. There will be judgment for the claimant,” Ramcharan ruled on May 12.

He ordered the State to pay $135,000 in general and exemplary damages.

“In assessing the credibility of the witnesses, the court is taken aback by the lack of documentary and other evidence in the defendant's case, given the number of things said to have been recorded.

“Notes of the interviews, certain extracts from the station diary, and the relevant video footage are all absent from this trial, and no reason is given for their omission by any of these witnesses, even though these are relevant matters which would have assisted the court.

“In the circumstances, the court prefers the evidence of the claimant.”

Justice Ramcharan also ordered interest to be paid on the sum and prescribed costs.

Also on May 12, another judge, Justice Frank Seepersad, renewed a previous call for amendments to the State Liability and Proceedings Act so that errant police officers bear the financial burden of court-ordered exemplary damages for their “total lack of appreciation for the rights of citizens.”

Hagley had been arrested on the night of June 5, 2016, while walking along Forres Park Road. He was stopped, searched, handcuffed and told he was under arrest for a robbery in Princes Town.

His witness statement said he repeatedly pleaded his innocence even when shown video footage of the alleged robbery.

“However, my pleas of innocence were again ignored, and I was then questioned about the robbery. During the interview, I pleaded my innocence and informed the police officers that I knew nothing about this alleged robbery and that I was being locked up for no reason at all.”

After four days in custody, Hagley was eventually released without being charged.

In defence of the claim, the state argued that officers were responding to a vehicle robbery and acted on information from villagers who identified three men seen abandoning the stolen vehicle and fleeing in another car in the Claxton Bay area.

Police said they intercepted the suspects using force and recovered a set of keys belonging to the stolen vehicle. Hagley was alleged to be one of the three men, but he denied being involved in any police chase or being identified by residents as a suspect.

Hagley has complained of being consistently targeted by police. In June 2019, he received $200,000 for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

In 2017, Hagley received an award of more than $425,000, and in May 2019, he received $270,000.

The award on May 12 brings Hagley’s total state-paid compensation to about $1.2 million.