More than two years have passed since a police bullet allegedly disabled Joshav Grant after a traffic stop in January 2022.
However, his attorneys say they are no closer to getting justice for Grant, who was a promising basketball player but now has to walk with a cane and is unable to support himself financially.
They say they are at a standstill as the Solicitor General’s Office awaits a file from the Barbados Police Service before the matter can proceed.
On Thursday, the 23-year-old was supported by his attorneys Kyle Walkes and Neville Reid at Pilgrim & Associates, Whitepark Road, St Michael, where they gave an update on his plight.
“We’ve filed everything that we were supposed to file for it to be brought before the court. It’s due to no fault of ours . . . . Due to the fact that this matter has not yet engaged the attention of the courts, Joshav has been unable to access any form of financial assistance for the injuries he sustained.
“Because of the injuries he cannot work to support himself and because he cannot work to support himself, he cannot pay to have the therapy and the treatment to ease the pain or put himself in the best position.
“We applied for the medical report almost two years ago and paid for that report, and we’ve written followup letters to find out the state of that report but we have not been able to get that report or any sort of indication as to what is going on. We never heard back from the police as to what the state of their investigation into this matter has been or what the result has been,” Walkes said.
Reid said one of the most critical issues was an update from the police.
“I think one of the critical issues here is the response from the Solicitor General’s Office, which will be representing the Attorney General in the matter. They are awaiting a file from the police to make an assessment as to whether they can accept liability or not.
Filed claim
“We have filed a claim in court but they have not entered a defence. Basically, they have said nothing concerning the matter, other than that they are awaiting a file from the police,” Reid said.
When contacted, Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce was on holiday and he asked that we contact Acting Commissioner Erwin Boyce but there was no answer from the latter.
Attorney General Dale Marshall said he was not aware of the details and would be unable to comment.
In 2022, police told the media that patrolling officers came across the driver of a car allegedly running a red light at
Codrington Hill, St Michael, around 7:30 p.m. on January 7.
Police said when they put on the siren, the driver, who was accompanied by a young woman, did not stop and they gave chase through Green Hill, Medford Road, White Hall Tenantry and Eden Lodge before ending back in Whitehall Tenantry.
Police said the driver emerged from the car with an object and they informed him they were armed and to drop the object, but he did not and a shot was fired.
The attorneys, however, said he did not run a red light and he had no weapons. They said it was still amber, which they said was not an offence.
Grant also gave his account of the situation, including six shots, at least one of which he said was fired before the vehicle was stopped.
“I was driving and the police were in pursuit of me. Before I brought the vehicle to a stop, the police released bullets from their firearm. They hit the tail light of my vehicle.
“I got out of the vehicle, then another shot was fired and I was struck by that shot and then three more shots were fired after that.
“The police then proceeded to come up on me and put his foot in my back. After realising I was shot, they did the normal procedure; making sure I was all right and called the ambulance,” Grant said.
One of the bullets struck him in the spinal canal and along with genital problems, Grant said, he suffers from mental anguish. ( TG)
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