In a significant judicial ruling, High Court Justice Devindra Rampersad has mandated the Trinidad and Tobago state to compensate a sporting apparel wholesaler with over $223,000 in damages, interest, and legal costs for unlawful detention and malicious prosecution during a 2018 traffic stop.
The claimant, whose identity remains protected due to security concerns regarding the country’s crime situation, was subjected to false imprisonment and malicious prosecution by officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service during a highway traffic exercise on June 23, 2018. Represented by attorney Joel Roper, the businessman successfully demonstrated that police officers violated his rights during what began as a routine traffic stop.
Justice Rampersad’s judgment detailed specific compensation awards: $50,000 for false imprisonment (including aggravated damages), $70,000 for malicious prosecution, and $25,000 as special damages. The court additionally granted interest on these awards while declining to award exemplary damages, noting that additional punitive measures were unwarranted. The state was further ordered to cover the claimant’s legal costs amounting to $34,410.41.
Court documents reveal the claimant was initially stopped while traveling to conduct business deliveries and photograph a wedding. After receiving tickets for speeding and tinted windows, he was stopped again minutes later, forcibly removed from his vehicle, handcuffed, searched, and transported to Cumuto Police Station. He endured approximately eight hours of detention without being informed of arrest reasons or afforded his constitutional rights, including access to legal counsel or telephone communication. The subsequently filed charges of using insulting language were dismissed by a magistrate, reinforcing the foundation for the malicious prosecution claim.