Pair of lawsuits pending
The B.C. government has finally responded — just barely — to a pair of lawsuits filed in March by inmates at the Okanagan Correctional Centre.
Replies in both cases, which allege mistreatment at the hands of jail guards, state simply and without explanation the province “denies the allegations,” and ask for the claims to be dismissed.
The matters are now expected to be addressed June 29 at settlement conferences in small claims court.
The Justice Ministry has consistently declined comment on any aspect of the lawsuits, including even the dates of the settlement conferences.
The first lawsuit in question was filed March 22 by Mathew Van Exan, who claims he was forced to undress for a strip search in front of a surveillance camera, which allegedly violated his privacy rights.
“Not wanting to get charged for disobeying (a) staff order I was uncomfortably stripped down nude even though I was very argumentative about the situation and even specified that it was in my right to not (undress) on camera,” Van Exan says in the handwritten statement of claim.
“I was then forced to touch my privates, lift them, even bend over. By this time I felt completely abused and disrespected, violated and humiliated.”
Van Exan is seeking $35,000 — the limit in small claims court.
The second lawsuit in question was filed March 26 by Alex Boucher, who’s seeking $34,000 for alleged negligence that he claims resulted in him being assaulted while voluntarily in protective custody on Dec. 20, 2017.
His handwritten notice of claim does not set out the details of the assault.
It explains only that earlier on the day in question, “the inmate who assaulted me was charged for threats of this nature and there was ample time to put the proper policies and procedures (in place) to prevent this assault from happening to me,” Boucher writes.
“But because of staff not following procedures this day, I was assaulted in the worst way possible.”
The province has not yet responded, however, to two other lawsuits filed by other OCC inmates.
David McHale is seeking $24,844 for injuries he allegedly suffered when he was stabbed by another inmate in September 2017 after a guard forgot to close a gate barring access to him and others in protective custody.
McHale’s lawsuit was filed in November 2017, the same month Tayler Verhaegen filed a $35,000 claim for injuries he allegedly suffered when he a guard lifted him by the throat and slammed him to the floor of his cell.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement last week it had not yet been served with filed notices of claim in those cases.