Victoria police will pay an $11.75m settlement to a man who was left a quadriplegic after officers allegedly injured him while responding to a noise complaint in 2017.
Earlier this month, Victoria’s supreme court confirmed the settlement order to Chris Karadaglis, which is believed to be one of the highest paid by the force in its history.
Karadaglis alleged in a statement of claim filed to the court last year that he was alone in his home in Warrnambool, in Victoria’s south-west, when three police officers arrived in response to a noise complaint in November, 2017.
He claimed he was placed in a headlock, and the officers restrained him with such force that they severely injured his spine, rendering him a quadriplegic. He said the incident occurred in circumstances in which he posed no threat to the officers or anybody else.
“[Karadaglis] was forcibly taken out of the premises by the officers,” lawyers for Karadaglis said in the statement of claim.
“He was placed in a headlock by one of the officers with the officer applying increasing force to the plaintiff’s neck.
“During the physical restraint of the plaintiff, one or more of the officers applied excessive force to the plaintiff who suffered devastating injury to his cervical spine.”
Karadaglis submitted that the force should pay exemplary damages,in part to “act as a deterrent and to bring home to the defendant [Victoria police] that physical restraint of a non-violent offender must be planned and executed in such a way as to avoid foreseeable injury and that police officers must be properly supervised, assessed, monitored and trained”.
On 1 October, the court ordered the payment must be made by the end of the month, less any repayments due to the National Disability Insurance Agency. The payment will be made into a court fund, as Karadaglis has a disability, the order said.
The court order made no reference to fault or liability on behalf of the officers.
Karadaglis’ lawyer, Jeremy King, declined to comment.
Victoria police filed no defence to the legal claim in the supreme court. A police spokesperson confirmed the settlement to Guardian Australia but declined to comment further.
In 2019, assistant commissioner Russell Barrett described the interaction between Karadaglis and the officers as a “life-changing experience, devastating for the family of that individual”.
In June, the three officers allegedly involved were charged with negligently causing serious injury following an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission. The officers will face court for the first time next month.
The Victorian attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, announced earlier this year that the government would complete a “systemic review” into the laws regarding complaints made against police to ensure they placed “a stronger focus on the needs of complainants and victims of police misconduct”.
The government is working with Victoria police, integrity agencies, community legal centres and community groups as part of the review in a bid to make “police oversight ... strong and transparent, while meeting the needs of our diverse communities and backing the integrity of Victoria police.”
The government’s announcement came two years after they were due to respond to a damning parliamentary committee report on police complaints.