Grenada police force is being sued by the family of a Toronto man allegedly beaten to death by five of their police officers.

Lawyer, Derick Sylvester, who represents the family of Oscar Bartholomew seeks damages for his wife and three children. The five officers: Edward Gibson, Shaun Ganness, Ruddy Felix, Kenton Hazzard, and Wendell sylvester are charged wth manslaughter. They made their first court appearance on Tuesday in St. George’s, the capital of Grenada.

No pleas were entered at the time.

The five officers face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Minimum penalties are typically set at the court’s discretion.

Bartholomew, 39, was in Grenada visiting family for the holidays. He was born in the Grenada, but has lived in Toronto for 10 years.

The incident took place on Dec. 26 when Bartholomew allegedly mistook a plainclothes police officer at the station for an old friend. He lifted her off the ground in a hug. The alleged beating from the police came right after this encounter.

Bartholomew’s family said that he and his wife stopped at the police station in the town of St. David’s to use the restroom.

Two autopsies have verified that his death on Dec. 27 was the result of brain trauma.

According to the family’s lawyer, this is the first time that policemen have been charged of such magnitude in Grenada.

A preliminary inquiry to the incident will be heard on Friday in St. David’s, where the alleged beating took place.

Sylvester told reporters that Grenada is a peaceful country and hopes that this incident will allow the police force to adopt better recruiting practices and train the force on how to work with civilians.

“Despite the fact that this was indeed a tragedy, I believe some good will no doubt come out of it,” he said.

He hopes that police and citizens can start the healing process during the trial and learn to work together. “We have to live together in the same community.”he adds.

Back in Ontario, Peter Hypolite, Bartholomew’s father and Ajax resident, stated that he cannot determine the reasons why this could happen to his son. He said his son grew up with relatives who were also police officers with the Grenada police force.

“He [is] around police and he knows better than not do anything to violate the law … and they do that to the guy,” Hypolite said. “I just can’t understand what caused that to happen.”

Bartholomew’s brother, Solomon Hypolite, will travel to Grenada to attend the Jan. 9 funeral. He hopes that the manslaughter is turned to a murder charge.

“It’s very upsetting and the more I think about it, the more senseless it is for me,” he said.

Hypolite adds, “Just a simple pit stop can cost you your life,” he said. “I’m sure the reason he stopped at a police station is because he thought that that was the safest place to stop.”