Inmate stabbed seven times in the head sues Manitoba prison officers alleging negligence
An inmate in a Manitoba prison is suing five corrections officers alleging negligence led to an attack where he was stabbed seven times in the head and face.
Christopher Calamusa, an inmate in the Stony Mountain Institution, filed a statement of claim in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench on August 10, 2021. The claim lists five unnamed corrections officers and the Attorney General of Canada – who is responsible for the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) – as defendants.
The claim alleges Calamusa had been in a common area for inmates on August 11, 2019, when he was beaten and stabbed around seven times in the head and face by a group of other inmates.
The claim alleges the corrections officers were not at their stations during the attack and had "abandoned their duty to guard and protect him." The claim said the inmates took advantage of the officers' absence to attack Calamusa.
The claim said when the officers did intervene, Calamusa was shot with a rubber bullet and pepper-sprayed.
Calamusa has been left with permanent facial nerve damage, scarring to his face, loss of feeling and numbness, and traumatic head injuries which caused permanent cognitive deficits, according to the claim.
He also deals with post-traumatic stress disorder, fear and paranoia, and needs professional counselling, the claim said.
"Calamusa's injuries arose as a direct consequence of the negligence of (the corrections officers)," the claim reads.
Calamusa is seeking damages, saying the injuries have impacted his homemaking ability and capacity to work as a casual manual labourer.
None of the allegations in the claim have been proven in court.
A CSC spokesperson told CTV News the department is 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," they said in an emailed statement.
CSC would not comment further as the matter is before the courts. The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers declined to comment.
As of Wednesday, no statement of defence had been filed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions
'Oppenheimer' finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers' reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional.