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Court orders State to pay Slowe $1M for wrongful arrest
(Kaieteur News) – Former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe has been awarded $1 million dollars in damages in addition to costs for being wrongfully arrested by police in October 2021.
According to court documents seen by this newspaper, Slowe was wrongfully arrested in the precincts at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on October 15, 2021 while he was there in response to a summons which was previously issued to him by the Court. The summons was issued on October 3, 2021 for Slowe to attend court on the 15th but it was reported that he was out of the country when the summons was issued.
Former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe
Slowe was at the time facing criminal charges including fraud and sexual assault. He arrived at the court on October 15 and was still arrested. As a result, the former assistant police commissioner brought proceedings against the State naming the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, the State’s Legal representative as the respondent.
In his statement of claim, Slowe said that the illegal detention resulted in a loss of liberty, injury of feeling including indignity, mental suffering, disgrace and humiliation.
In a judgment delivered on 24th August 2026, Justice Nicola Pierre found that Mr. Slowe’s constitutional right to personal liberty, protected by Article 139 of the Constitution, had been infringed when officers restrained him at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court despite his attendance pursuant to a court summons and despite objections that there was no lawful basis for his arrest.
The State admitted liability for assault, battery and false imprisonment. The Court held that although the restraint lasted approximately ten minutes, the circumstances were serious. Mr. Slowe was attending court in response to a summons in the very matter for which officers sought to arrest him. The restraint continued even after attorneys-at-law informed the officers that the arrest was unlawful. The incident occurred in public view and was recorded and later disseminated through traditional and social media.
The Court noted that the right to personal liberty is fundamental. In this case, the police exercised coercive powers without lawful authority against a person who was attending Court pursuant to a summons. Justice Pierre awarded G$800,000 in compensatory damages for assault, battery and false imprisonment and a further G$200,000 in vindicatory damages for the breach of Mr. Slowe’s constitutional right to personal liberty, emphasising that police powers must be exercised strictly according to law.
The Court underscored the importance of constitutional protections against arbitrary arrest and detention and the need to vindicate those rights where they are infringed.
The Court entered judgment in favour of Mr. Slowe in the sum of G$1,000,000 and awarded costs of G$250,000. Nigel Hughes and Kiswana Jefford of law firm, Hughes Fields & Stoby represented Slowe. Following the decision, attorney Hughes via his Facebook page posted a synopsis of the case. He noted that the decision reaffirms the fundamental constitutional principle that no person may be deprived of liberty except in accordance with the law, and that public authorities will be held accountable where those rights are violated.
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The lower peons of the GPF just follows orders from the Higher Ups.
Regardless of whether they can or cannot read, or understand the legal
mumbo jumbo.
Then they end up paying BIGLY.
Now, we Americans have to decide if LAKE ONTARIO is still Lake Ontario.
52% of which is in Canada…48% borders New York State.
Or as Trump’s executive order sough a changed to: Lake America ?
We are thankful the world still go by Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario.