Govt to appeal $24M court judgment for police killing of Quindon Bacchus

Dec 31, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News- The state is set to appeal the $24M judgment in the Quindon Bacchus case that was handed down last month.

The judgment for compensation of $24M was handed down by Justice Nigel Niles in the unlawful killing case of Bacchus, who was fatally shot by a constable of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) two and a half years ago.

During the Attorney General’s end-of-year press conference on Saturday, Solicitor General Nigel Hawke told the media that they felt that the judge went over where he was supposed to go in relation to the evidence. “We felt that he did not take into consideration some aspects of the evidence. So we think the matter is worthy of an appeal. So to set the record straight at the appellate level, because remember, we are dealing here with compensation,” Hawke said.

He explained that it is a large amount of compensation and to set the record straight the State did accept the liability; however, there is the issue of quantum that needs to be dealt with. “… We think the arguments in relation to quantum, some of the considerations by the judge, were in our respectful opinion, over the pail and that is why we have since appealed,” Hawke said.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall weighed in on the matter saying that in the assessment of compensation, judges are guided by previous awards in cases of similar circumstances. Making it clear that they are not contesting liability, Nandlall said that they felt that the Police officers were in the wrong and “there was a finding to that effect, by the Police Complaints Authority. The DPP filed criminal charges against the offending officers.”

Taking this into consideration, “We felt it would have been wrong for the State to contest liability, so we went to the judge and we said, ‘look, the State is wrong, let us only deal with compensation.”

However, they are of the opinion that the judge entered the arena and went ahead to grant “measure of damages that were not before him, and if we are to leave that on the record, we believe that it would lead to a whole array of wrong decisions being made. For that reason, we have challenged the legality of the judge’s assessment of the compensation.”

On November 15, this publication reported that Justice Niles ordered the State to pay the family of Bacchus $24M for his killing back in 2022. Bacchus, a father of one, was shot dead on June 10, 2022 in Haslington, East Coast Demerara by Police Lance Corporal Kristoff DeNobrega. DeNobrega has been charged with Bacchus’ murder and the case is still ongoing but the family had sued the State and won, according to the law firm representing them, Dexter Todd and Associates.

The law firm had said that Bacchus’s mother filed the lawsuit. “The State first defended the action, denying liability for the killing and claiming that Mr. Bacchus died during an authorised police undercover operation while he was attempting to illegally sell firearms,” Dexter Todd and Associates said in a statement before adding, “However, by letter dated July 24, 2024 the Office of the Attorney General wrote the attorneys for Mr. Bacchus’ mother, as well as the judge, indicating that the State has accepted liability for the brutal shooting and requested that the court make a decision on the quantum of damages to be granted to the estate of the deceased.”

Submissions from both sides were made and the judge ruled that Bacchus’s killing “breached his right to life, as protected under the Constitution of Guyana,” the law firm said. The court reportedly ordered the State to pay $1 million for funeral expenses, $$22.5 million as damages for breach of his right to life and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in court costs. According to the law firm, investigations revealed that there was no authorised Police operation in Haslington when Bacchus was shot and that no Police Commander was aware of such.

Giving some background into the case, the law firm said as a result of the incident and the investigation, several Police ranks were allegedly placed on close arrest by the GPF. In addition to DeNobrega, two other ranks: Lance Corporal Simon and Sergeant McLennon, were also charged with attempting to obstruct the course of justice. Lance Corporal Simon was also charged with the offence of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

The post-mortem report noted that Bacchus died from multiple gunshot wounds. Dr. Nehaul Singh, in the autopsy report, revealed that Bacchus received six gunshots and also confirmed that he was shot five times in the back and once in the chest.

He had left to mourn his family and friends, including his three-years-old son, the law firm said. The circumstances which led to the death of Mr. Bacchus caused great public outcry, national grief, massive protests across Guyana and the temporary lockdown of certain areas of the country.

(Govt to appeal $24M court judgment for police killing of Quindon Bacchus)

(police killing of Quindon Bacchus)

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• appeal, Attorney General, compensation, Quindon Bacchus

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