Homeowner makes settlement bid over police invasion video

By Emmanuel Joseph

The man who is suing the government for two police officers’ unannounced entry and search of his home, caught on camera, while he was away at work has taken steps to have the matter resolved before going to court.

The man’s attorney has given the Office of the Attorney General four weeks to agree to an out-of-court settlement.

In a Pre-action Protocol letter dated January 24 and served on the offices of the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police, Meshach Thornhill, the attorney for complainant Daron Kirton, said the AG has seven days in which to acknowledge receipt of the correspondence and 28 days to provide a “substantive reply”, indicating whether the State is willing to settle the claim outlined in the four-page document, “inclusive of compensation”.

“If you fail to comply with these requests, I have been instructed to institute legal proceedings against you without further notice,” Thornhill warned in the letter.

The complainant is claiming an unlawful and arbitrary search of his home and the seizure of certain items at his St Philip residence on December 28, 2023.

He intends to bring criminal charges against the police officers “if the powers that be” fail to take appropriate action against them.

In the letter that was copied to Commissioner Richard Boyce, the Police Complaints Authority and the Barbados Police Service Office of Professional Responsibility, Kirton’s lawyer claimed the officers’ unlawful entry into his client’s home and the search and seizure of his personal property violated his constitutional rights under Section 11 (c), 17 and 18 of the Constitution.

Thornhill’s letter continued: “My client seeks redress pursuant to Section 24 of the Constitution and/or the inherent jurisdiction of the court, included but not limited to, compensation for the infringement of his constitutional rights. Also, my client seeks compensation for damage to his property, as well as to the items that were unlawfully taken during the unlawful and arbitrary search of my client’s property.”

It was on January 16 that Barbados TODAY broke the story of the police officers being caught on hidden cameras walking around and picking up various items inside Kirton’s house.

The surveillance footage seen by Barbados TODAY shows two men, one dressed in blue fatigues and a blue cap and brandishing a large gun with a strap, and the other wearing civilian clothing with a vest with POLICE emblazoned at the front and back and carrying a similar weapon.

The Barbados Police Service has not denied that the individuals caught on camera were police officers.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb