By Emmanuel Joseph
Barbados is expected to broker an out-of-court settlement for the forcible removal of Trinidadian licensed gun dealer Brent Thomas from the country by police officers a year and a half ago, after the government accepted liability, the government’s lawyer Roger Forde SC has confirmed.
“I think we have accepted liability, but I don’t have the letter in front of me right now. But the answer is yes, we have accepted liability,” Forde, who is representing Attorney General Dale Marshall, told Barbados TODAY.
Asked if this meant there would be an out-of-court settlement, Forde replied: “More than likely.”
Thomas was on his way to visit his US cardiologist and stopped over in Barbados when he was detained at his hotel on October 5, 2022, handcuffed and handed over to three officers assigned to Trinidad and Tobago’s Professional Standards Bureau on the tarmac of the Grantley Adams International Airport.
Forde said negotiations have not yet begun but confirmed that the government’s acknowledgement of liability is contained in a letter he wrote to Thomas.
In that letter, the claimant was advised that the Barbadian authorities accepted liability based on the senior counsel’s advice.
“I have advised my client that the State of Barbados should accept liability in respect of the claim for breach of Section 18 of the Constitution of Barbados,” the correspondence stated. Section 18 of the constitution’s bill of rights guarantees the right to a fair hearing and protection of the law.
Trinidadian licensed gun dealer Brent Thomas. (Trinidad Guardian FP)
“In the circumstances, kindly send me a claim on quantum together with authorities in support of the same,” the letter continued. “I am of the view that many of the documents requested by you touch and concern liability which my client has agreed to accept.”
Thomas started legal action demanding compensation for the police’s “egregious conduct” as well as several declarations relating to his “arrest, detention and forced repatriation” by Barbadian law enforcement officers.
He sought to know who gave the directive which led to his “unlawful abduction” from a hotel room here, as stated by Trinidad High Court Justice Devindra Rampersad’s ruling on Thomas’ constitutional challenge in April 2023.
In a pre-action protocol letter to Attorney General Marshall, Thomas’s lawyers said it was well established that members of the constabulary acted outside the law, whether they acted individually or collectively.
The lawyers said police had refused to afford their client the protection of the law to which he is entitled according to the Constitution.
“The laws of Barbados did not authorise any of the acts of the BPS relative to our client which occurred on October 5, 2022,” the letter added.
Thomas, 61, owner of the Specialist Shooters Training Centre (SSTC), which has been one of the main suppliers of guns, ammunition and other security equipment to various state agencies for over 20 years, is represented by Trinidadian attorneys Fyard Hosein SC, Adam Hosein and Clay Hackett, and Barbadian attorney Nicholas Jackman.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
