Ziggy
SOURCE DAILY OBSERVER: Iris Browne and Elvis Caesar — the sister and son of 64-year-old Leroy Caesar, a man with mental health issues who died while in police custody — have won a negligence case against the state’s Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police.
Caesar was fatally beaten on December 29, 2021 at the St John’s Police Station, by Ziggy Beazer, another detainee known to have severe mental health problems.
Wendell Alexander, legal representative for the Caesar family, argued that the Commissioner of Police is responsible for the actions of officers under his command. He contended that the police were aware, or should have been aware, that both Caesar and Beazer had significant mental health issues and failed to notify Caesar’s family of his detention.
“The police knew or ought to have known that Ziggy Beazer is violent and prone to violence and took no action to avert the risk,” he said.
Despite knowing the mental health conditions of both the deceased and his attacker, the police commissioner and his officers did not ensure that Caesar received appropriate medical care and treatment. Alexander also emphasised that the Attorney General is responsible for ensuring that police stations are adequately equipped to house inmates safely.
Beazer assaulted Caesar in the holding cell at St John’s Police Station, causing multiple severe injuries, including bilateral rib fractures, penetrating lung injuries, haemothorax, penetrating liver injuries, and hemoperitoneum.
Caesar, a vendor, was a known patient of Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital since 2000 and the High Court of Justice deemed his killer unfit to stand trial for murder on July 16th, 2019 because he suffered from a major psychiatric illness, schizophrenia. A 2019 psychiatric report on 35-year-old Beazer noted that he “manifested psychotic features of paranoid delusions, auditory and visual hallucination and gross disorganisation of his behaviour and speech”. Beazer was also deemed unfit to stand trial in the murder of Caesar.
Justice Carlos Michael granted a default judgment because the defendants failed to defend the claim adequately. Alexander said the judge ruled that the defendant’s arguments did not meet the necessary threshold in accordance to the Civil Procedure Rules.
“Judgement is in truth and in fact entered against the Commissioner of Ppolice and the Attorney General,” he noted.
The Caesar family has requested the court cover Caesar’s funeral expenses, as well as compensatory, aggravated, and exemplary damages. They are currently awaiting the court’s decision on these matters.
The government has faced challenges in finding appropriate detention facilities for individuals such as Ziggy Beazer, who suffer from severe mental health illnesses.
This incident is not isolated; a similar tragedy occurred at St John’s Police Station in February 2021, when a police corporal was killed by a detainee with mental health issues.
This prior incident, Alexander insisted, should have alerted the police to the potential dangers, prompting them to exercise greater caution, which they failed to do.
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