…after brother dies from alleged injuries while in custody

The sister of Kallicharran Sawack called “Danny” is suing the state for $50M after her brother allegedly succumbed to injuries he sustained while in custody at the Sparendaam Police Station.

Sawack, of Lot 3 LBI, East Coast Demerara (ECD) died on January 28, 2019 while a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). It is alleged that the 39-year-old LBI resident was beaten in the lock-ups.

Shivani Sawack, through her attorney Anil Nandlall, is seeking damages for death and injuries sustained to the now deceased while in the custody of the Guyana Police Force, negligence, breach of statutory duty to the now deceased under the Police Act and violation of the now deceased’s fundamental rights guaranteed in Article 141 in the Constitution.

According to the court document, on January 17, 2019, Sawack, whilst under the influence of alcohol, verbally abused his mother and as a result the claimant and her mother, Ramdai Sawack, lodged a report with police officers at the Beterverwagting (BV) Police Station. He was subsequently arrested and transported to the Beterverwagting Police Station. Shortly after, police escorted him to the Sparendaam Police Station where he was placed in the police ‘lockups’ at that station. The court document noted that at the time that Kallicharran was arrested and taken into police custody, he was healthy and bore no injuries or marks of violence anywhere about his body.

Further, Shivani Sawack, the claimant, was informed by police officers at the Beterverwagting Police Station that Kallicharran would have been taken to court on January 21, 2019. From January 17 to January 21, 2019, the claimant delivered meals to her brother while he was in police custody; however, neither the claimant nor any of the other persons who delivered the meals saw the deceased in person.

On January 21, 2019, the claimant attended the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court with the expectation that Kallicharran would be brought before the presiding magistrate but, this did not occur and the claimant was eventually informed by the magistrate that the case involving the her brother would be adjourned to the following day because the deceased was in the hospital.

Shivani Sawack then visited the Sparendaam Police Station to enquire about the whereabouts of her brother and was informed by a police officer that her brother was in the Georgetown Public Hospital suffering from a mental problem.

The claimant immediately explained to the officer that as far as she was aware, her brother had no mental problems or a history of any mental disorder, whatsoever. Shivani Sawack and her mother immediately visited the Georgetown Public Hospital where they observed that the man was bleeding through his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, the court document alleged. His face was swollen and his body also bore stab wounds. Kallicharran Sawack was never discharged from the hospital, and he died on January 28, 2019.