NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A married couple who were unlawfully arrested and detained for 31 hours in 2014 over what began as a rent dispute have been awarded more than $130,000 in damages by the Supreme Court.
Acting Registrar Renaldo Toote, in a November 28 decision, described the case as an “abuse of executive power,” noting: “This was not a case of mere error or negligence. The officers either failed to understand the basic distinction between civil and criminal matters or deliberately chose to abuse their powers to assist a private complainant in recovering a civil debt. Either scenario warrants punishment and deterrence.”
The plaintiffs, Jinnah and Reshenda Forde, had been embroiled in a civil dispute with a tenant who allegedly failed to pay rent on a property they owned. According to court records, the dispute escalated when the tenant sought police involvement, resulting in the couple’s early morning arrest on March 25, 2014. At the police station, they were handcuffed and held in separate cells under degrading conditions. Mrs. Forde was reportedly exposed to male detainees relieving themselves, as female cells front-faced male cells. Toote observed, “Mrs. Forde was exposed to male detainees relieving themselves. Such exposure, combined with prolonged unlawful detention, represents a violation of basic human dignity.”
The ordeal also included the couple’s minor child, who was needlessly separated from the couple and left temporarily unattended in a police vehicle, creating emotional distress.
Toote criticized the police conduct, stating: “The deployment of police powers as instruments of debt collection or civil coercion represents a serious threat to the rule of law. Citizens must be secure in the knowledge that civil disputes will be resolved by civil courts, not by police intimidation.”
He described the detention as an abuse of executive power and emphasized, “The police acted beyond the scope of their lawful authority, converting a civil dispute into a criminal coercion exercise. This is precisely the type of conduct the law seeks to prevent.”
The court awarded Jinnah and Reshenda Forde $32,000 and $35,000 respectively for general damages related to false imprisonment and wrongful arrest. Each received $5,000 for assault and battery, $10,000 for aggravated damages, $15,000 for exemplary damages, and $7,000 for vindicatory damages for constitutional rights violations. The ruling also included interest and $60,000 in legal costs. Toote emphasized that the award was intended not only to compensate the couple but also to “send a clear message that abuse of police authority will attract full legal consequences.
“This case should serve as a cautionary tale for law enforcement officers: the law does not permit the use of police powers to settle private disputes, no matter how seemingly trivial, he noted.
