indefinite imprisonment

Jury must decide whether towel played a role in immigration detainee’s death: inquest

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An immigration detainee could have died of irregular heartbeat while struggling against restraints or asphyxia from a towel over his mouth, but it’s up to the jury to decide the role the towel played in causing the man’s death, an inquest has heard. In an expert testimony on Monday, Ontario’s chief forensic pathologist detailed a … Read more

Prospect of deportation was a ‘stressor’ for immigration detainee

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A maximum-security jail only had one psychiatrist available on site for 20 hours a week for 1,200 inmates during the time when an immigration detainee with serious mental health illnesses was held in the facility, an inquest has heard. The nursing staff at Central East Correctional Centre, including 19 RNs and 7 RPNs, were stretched … Read more

Sick inmate’s transfer ‘more of a political issue than medical’ doctor tells inquest

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As medical staff were trying to manage an immigration detainee’s delirium — a common occurrence among patients out of the ICU — options were already being explored to transfer him back to the jail or to another hospital for care, an inquest has heard. The move, wrote the physician in charge of Abdurahman Ibrahim Hassan’s … Read more

‘I wish I had said something,’ nurse says of night detainee died

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A nurse who witnessed the final moments of an immigration detainee’s life said she felt uneasy seeing a police officer using a towel to cover the patient’s mouth to prevent him from spitting, but was too intimidated to speak up to stop it. “I really wish I had said something,” Lisa Akey, a nurse at … Read more

‘I had no hand in causing his death’: Inquest into immigration detainee’s death hears SIU interview with officer

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A police officer present in the final, chaotic moments of an immigration detainee’s life said he was constantly watching the restrained man’s eyes and monitoring his breathing while putting a towel over his mouth to subdue him. In an audio recording played to a jury Wednesday, late OPP Const. Andy Eberhardt was heard telling Ontario … Read more

‘They start asking if he’s breathing’: Officer tells inquest of chaotic scene on night immigration detainee died

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Two months after returning to work from her maternity leave, Peterborough police Const. Alicia McGriskin responded to a call for a paid-duty officer in order to make some extra money. She packed some snacks and a laptop so she could watch movies during what she expected would be a “low-key day” while guarding an inmate … Read more

Advocates want answers on immigration detainee’s death in custody

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The final hours of the life of Abdurahman Ibrahim Hassan unfolded as a grim series of events — a human car crash, playing out in slow motion. The Toronto man with a history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder had been detained in Central East Correctional Center, a maximum-security jail in Lindsay, Ont., for years awaiting … Read more