An inmate of an Abbotsford prison has launched a civil lawsuit, saying correctional officers assaulted him and used excessive force on two separate occasions in 2022.
Franjo Perovic, currently an inmate at Pacific Regional Treatment Centre, is seeking aggravated, punitive, general and special damages, as well as a declaration that the guards breached his charter rights.
In his notice of civil claim, Perovic states that the use of force on him was 鈥渆ntirely unnecessary and disproportionate" to the circumstances.
The court documents state that the first incident occurred on March 17, 2022 when he was an inmate at Kent Institution in Agassiz.
Perovic was in the shower when he was told by correctional officers (COs) that they were going to place a 鈥渂edding kit鈥� in his cell, the documents state.
According to the notice of civil claim, he told the guards he did not want anything in his cell, and as he stepped out of the shower, they grabbed him, forced him to the ground, and handcuffed him.
They then pepper-sprayed him and kneed him in the face and back, the documents state.
鈥淭he COs then dragged Perovic naked through the courtyard of Kent and to a structured intervention unit, where he was forcibly placed in a shower while restrained in leg shackles,鈥� the lawsuit states.
The water was too hot, but Perovic was forced to stay in the shower for 20 to 25 minutes, according to the documents.
He was then forcibly placed on an ambulance gurney, injected with an 鈥渦nknown medication鈥� and taken to the Chilliwack hospital, where he awoke with 鈥渃uts and lacerations all over his body,鈥� the lawsuit states.
Perovic says he was then taken to the Pacific Regional Treatment Centre, where he was placed in isolation for five days 鈥渨ithout any meaningful contact, the opportunity to shower or any bedding or other material items.鈥�
During this period, he was told that he needed to have another injection of medication and when he did not comply, he was pepper-sprayed again and held down on the mattress and injected, the documents state.
The second incident described in the lawsuit occurred on Aug. 17, 2022, when he was held in his cell at Pacific for several hours because of a mental-health episode.
When guards tried to remove him from his cell, Perovic refused to leave and demanded to know why he was being moved.
The court documents state that he was then pepper-sprayed through a gap in the cell door. The door to his cell was then opened.
鈥淭he ERT (emergency response team) restrained Perovic and began using excessive physical force against him, including, among other things, kicking and hitting Perovic in the head, elbowing and kicking his ribs, and repeatedly striking Perovic with a baton in the arms, back and head,鈥� the lawsuit states.
Perovic was taken to an outside hospital for the treatment of head and bodily injuries, the documents state.
Both incidents resulted in Perovic filing grievances with Correctional Service Canada (CSC).
In relation to both incidents, the CSC鈥檚 assistant commissioner determined that 鈥渢he use of force was not necessary and 鈥� the amount of force used was not appropriate to the situational factors.鈥�
The use of pepper spray and escorting Perovic nude across the courtyard in March 2022 were also not necessary, the decision stated.
In relation to the August 2022 incident, the assistant commissioner determined that there were 鈥渟erious compliance issues on the part of the CSC.鈥�
The decision stated that there had been time and opportunity to use other resources to provide the required support that Perovic needed during a 鈥渕ental-health crisis鈥� while he was still secured in his cell.
鈥淭he use of force in this case was further inappropriate given that it was responding to a mental health incident, in a CSC treatment centre, and where there were nursing and other medical staff available and better able to assist,鈥� states the notice of civil claim.
The claim states that in addition to the physical injuries he sustained, Perovic has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and 鈥渘ervous shock, fear and upset.鈥�
The lawsuit says four correctional officers were involved in the first incident and five in the second. None are named in the lawsuit.
Also named as defendants are CSC, the attorney-general of Canada, and the wardens of Kent and Pacific institutions.
The allegations have not yet been proved in court nor have the defendants filed a response to the notice of civil claim.
Perovic has been serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of a fellow drug dealer, as well as a 12-year sentence for the 2008 fatal stabbing of a fellow inmate at Kent Institution.
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