A prisoner who was struck on the back of the head and slashed about the body by another prisoner at the Hall of Justice has been awarded $60,000 in compensation after the State conceded on liability in a negligence claim.
Earlier this week, Master Shurlane Pierre awarded compensation for prisoner Daniel Mendoza, plus interest, in his negligence claim in which he argued the State failed to protect one prisoner from another.
In his lawsuit, Mendoza said on March 6, 2017, he was in the corridor of cells at the Port of Spain High Court at the Hall of Justice, handcuffed to another prisoner, when he was hit on the back of the head by a prisoner who was said to be a member of the Rasta City gang.
In his lawsuit, he said the other prisoner objected to being handcuffed to a “Muslim.”
Mendoza said he was handcuffed to another prisoner after the complaints and the one who hit him was left unsupervised without restraints.
He said the lash he got caused him to fall forward on the cell gate and then to the ground. He was slashed in the face with a blade.
“As the blade cut into my skin, I felt an intense burning feeling where it passed. In the heat of the moment, it felt like my entire face was on fire after the first cut.”
Mendoza also said he couldn't fight back because of the handcuffs. He said he tried to wriggle free from them but could not and received scrapes on his arm. The other prisoner then cut him on his forearm.
“He cut all the way down to the bone and a lot of blood began to pour out.”
The blood allowed him to slide the handcuff from his hand and he was able to kick and push the other prisoner away but not before he was again slashed in the back.
He mange to run to a police officer for help. After receiving napkins to stop the bleeding, Mendoza said he begged the police to take him to the hospital. Some 20 minutes later, they finally did so. He received 13 stitches to the face and five on his arm. The wounds took a month to heal and he said he now has scars to his face, arm and back.
Mendoza was represented by attorneys Joseph Sookoo and Abigail Roach.
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