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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.