Victoria Police: Huge $11.75million payout after man is left paralysed

Victoria Police will pay out $11.75million to a man left paralysed after police officers allegedly used excessive force while responding to a noise complaint.

In a settlement filed in the Supreme Court, Chris Karadaglis said he was at home in Warrnambool, southwest Victoria, in November 2017 when three police officers attended and allegedly forcibly removed him from the property.

‘The plaintiff was alone at the premises and he posed no threat to the police officers or anybody else,’ court documents obtained by AAP said.

Chris Karadaglis suffered a devastating injury to his spine and is now quadriplegic. He also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as depressive and anxiety disorders

He claimed one of the police officers placed him in a headlock and applied ‘increasing force’ to his neck.

‘One or more of the officers applied excessive force to the plaintiff who suffered devastating injury to his cervical spine,’ the documents said.

Mr Karadaglis suffered a devastating injury to his spine and is now quadriplegic. He also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as depressive and anxiety disorders.

The documents alleged the force used by police was ‘cowardly and brutal’ and their conduct was ‘in contumelious disregard’ of Mr Karadaglis’ rights.

It was ‘an affront to his dignity’, high-handed, insulting, affronting and ‘in reckless disregard of the harm likely to be caused to him’, the claim said.

After the incident two of the officers involved allegedly visited the Warrnambool hospital where Mr Karadaglis was being treated and told a nurse he ‘was feigning his medical condition’.

He asked for Victoria Police to pay exemplary damages to show the court’s strong disapproval of the incident, and as a deterrent to ‘bring home to’ police that physically restraining a non-violent offender must ‘avoid foreseeable injury’.

The documents alleged the force used by police was ‘cowardly and brutal’ and their conduct was ‘in contumelious disregard’ of Mr Karadaglis’ rights

The documents said police officers ‘must be properly supervised, assessed, monitored and trained’.

On October 1 Victoria Police agreed to pay $11.75 million to Mr Karadaglis, less any repayment to the National Disability Insurance Agency, as well as his legal costs.

The court documents did not reference fault or liability on behalf of the officers themselves.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the organisation had reached ‘a settlement with a man who was injured during an arrest in Warrnambool in 2017’.

‘The terms of the settlement are confidential, therefore no further comment can be provided,’ he said.