The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a man paralysed in a police shooting was awarded nearly $1m, Attorney General Wayne Munroe said the government should settle cases where it is liable rather than run up unnecessary legal costs in court.

As The Tribune revealed yesterday, Thorne Clarke was awarded $941,893.91 seven years after judgment was entered against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General because they failed to file a defence to his lawsuit.

Asked whether he would make sure his office has defences prepared in future cases, Mr Munroe said everything depends on the facts.

"If what happened means that the government is liable," he said. "My approach is that you move to settle the matter without incurring unnecessary cost in a litigation."

Mr Munroe said he was not fully aware of all the facts surrounding the 2016 shooting and could not determine why no defence was filed.

He said that when a police officer is sued over an alleged action, the Attorney General's Office needs enough evidence to defend the officer. In some cases, he said, there is no evidence to contest a claim, or a person is clearly liable. In others, the only issue is how much should be paid in damages.

He said his office is now assessing whether to appeal any part of the award, a process that makes sure the registrar's assessment is correct in law.

"The only issue for the Attorney General's Office is whether it is excessive or not," Mr Munroe said. "If it's not excessive, then you send through the papers to get it paid. If it's excessive in any regard, then you would have the parts that you say are excessive appealed."

Mr Munroe could not say whether the officer or officers involved are still serving in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, or whether any of them faced disciplinary action.

He said that if the officers were found to have breached conduct rules, they would face disciplinary action. However, he said that depending on all the facts, a citizen can be compensated for an act described as civilly wrongful without any disciplinary offence having been committed.

Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles was contacted for her reaction to the case and for the status of the officers involved, and declined to comment at this time. She said she would have to look at the matter, which she said happened "many years" ago.

Mr Clarke's award is one of the largest damages awards of its kind ever handed down in The Bahamas. It comes nearly a decade after a bullet severed his spinal cord when he was 22.

The state has been ordered to compensate him for injuries that took away the use of his lower body and his normal bladder, bowel and sexual function, and left him dependent on a wheelchair for life.

The case began with a late-night encounter with police near Wilson Tract on February 13, 2016. What led an officer to shoot Mr Clarke remains disputed.

Police said officers were searching for a suspicious-looking man when they saw Mr Clarke get into his mother's six-seater van. They surrounded the vehicle and ordered him out. According to police, Mr Clarke refused to comply and tried to drive away, and an officer who feared he was about to be struck opened fire.

Mr Clarke said he stopped when ordered and asked officers why he was being stopped. He said he received no explanation and began to drive away before he was shot.

One bullet entered through the rear of the van and struck him in the upper back, severing his spinal cord. He lost control of his legs and feet and could not brake before the van crashed into a wall.