Stony inmate sues officers after vicious attack

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/08/2021 (1885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An inmate at the Stony Mountain Institution is suing corrections officers and the federal attorney general, claiming officers were away from their posts during a stabbing in which he was severely injured.

Christopher Calamusa, 30, was watching television in a common area of the prison two years ago when he was attacked by a group of inmates and stabbed multiple times. He had injuries to the hand, face and head.

In a statement of claim, Calamusa alleged five corrections officers were “absent from their stations,” and failed in their duty to protect him.

Calamusa is seeking general and aggravated damages, and asking the attorney general of Canada and corrections officers to cover medical expenses and compensate him for future loss of income.

The Aug. 11, 2019, attack began when Calamusa was punched in the back of the head by a fellow inmate, court filings claim. That attacker was joined by three others, who beat and stabbed Calamusa with a weapon, leaving him with seven stab wounds to the head and face.

Calamusa reportedly suffered fractures in his hands, scarring to his face, permanent facial nerve damage and “permanent cognitive deficits.” Court documents state Calamusa suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and is in need of professional counselling.

Calamusa says his attackers took advantage of the alleged absence of five corrections officers who “abandoned their duty to guard and protect him” that evening.

“There’s a duty of care. Just because you’re incarcerated doesn’t mean you forfeit your section seven (charter) right to life, liberty and security,” said one of Calamusa’s lawyers, Ethan Pollock, in an interview Wednesday.

“We’re here to ensure incarcerated individuals are safe while under the purview of corrections Canada.”

When corrections officers did intervene, the documents allege Calamusa was shot with a rubber bullet and sprayed with pepper spray before being taken to a Winnipeg hospital.

“During the attack, Calamusa required the immediate protection and assistance from the defendant corrections officers,” court documents state. “He received none.”

Documents state Calamusa needed a plate inserted in his head and in his hand, and will need further corrective surgeries, which he claims are a “direct consequence of the negligence” of corrections officers.

The claim further argues Calamusa, who was a general labourer before his incarceration, will suffer future loss of income as a result of his injuries.

Calamusa was given an eight-year sentence in 2014 after being convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault for stabbing a 20-year-old man at a birthday party in Kingston, Ont.

Pollock noted Calamusa remains in custody but has been transferred out of the province.

No statement of defence has been filed.

In a statement, Correctional Services Canada said it reviewing the claim and takes the allegations “very seriously.”

“CSC staff and senior management strive to ensure that our work to rehabilitate offenders is done safely and with the utmost professionalism,” said spokesperson Jeff Campbell.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers