Privy Council rules against Bahamas police

Tamara Merson is shown with her attorney, Fred
Smith, outside the Privy Council in London

by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com 

Friday, October 28, 2005

NASSAU, Bahamas: It is being called a "million dollar" landmark ruling by a number of legal observers and has set several tongues in the Bahamas waging and left one receptionist at a Cable Beach Hotel hoping the police will "mistreat me." 

It's the recent case in which the London-based Privy Council (PC) has reversed a decision by the Bahamas Court of Appeal, which had substantially reduced the amount of money awarded in damages to an American woman, who had taken legal action against the Bahamian police citing battery and malicious treatment just under twenty years ago.

Legal sources in the Bahamas told Caribbean Net News that the PC's ruling means that the woman will now receive a lot more than the original BAH$300,000 that had been ordered by a Supreme Court judge, adding that the heavy increase in the payout comes as a result of interest payments.

Caribbean Net News has learnt that back in March of 1994, Tamara Merson was victorious in her case in the Bahamas Supreme Court where Justice Joan Sawyer awarded her $8,160 in special damages; $90,000 for assault, battery and false imprisonment; $90,000 for malicious prosecution and $100,000 contravening her constitutional rights.

The responding were Sergeant Drexel Cartwright and the country's Attorney General.

In ruling at the time, the learned judge said that the Bahamian officers' conduct was callous, unfeeling, high-handed, insulting and malicious and behaved in an oppressive manner both with respect to the arrest and false imprisonment......

It was also observed by the court that the officers falsely alleged that Merson had "abetted the commission of the alleged offences of illegally operating a bank."

According to one report Merson was allegedly held in a cell for 48-hours with 12 men and denied the right to an attorney.

However, all the charges were subsequently withdrawn.

  Back...

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version