Hyde transfer order confused cop

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Note instructed police to ensure mentally ill man got psychiatric help, inquiry hears

By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

An inquiry into the death of a mentally ill Nova Scotia man who died in jail is zeroing in on a police officer’s flawed interpretation of a form that instructed police to ensure Howard Hyde received psychiatric help.

Hyde, a 45-year-old musician who suffered from schizophrenia, was arrested on Nov. 21, 2007, amid a domestic dispute and was later taken to the Halifax police station, where he was Tasered twice while trying to escape.

The inquiry has heard that Hyde stopped breathing after he was shocked a second time, but he was revived by an officer who performed CPR and then taken to hospital. Const. John Haislip, a rookie officer at the time, testified that his supervisor, Staff Sgt. Don Fox, told him to make sure Hyde was taken to court once he was cleared as medically stable.

Haislip testified that Fox told him Hyde was in hospital for treatment of possible physical injuries, not mental health issues.

"He advised me that he had not been brought there for that; that if he was medically stable and medically cleared, then we had a duty to get him to court," he told the inquiry.

The doctor who examined Hyde, Dr. Janet MacIntyre, determined he was well enough to be discharged, but she included a note on a Health Information Transfer form that made it clear police should return Hyde to hospital if he did not receive a psychiatric assessment.

Haislip testified he was aware that once Hyde was turned over to sheriff’s officers at the court or correctional officers at the jail, he would no longer be in his custody. He admitted that it was unclear to him who would be responsible for getting Hyde to a psychiatrist. He said the doctor’s instructions, which referred specifically to police doing the job, probably should have been changed.

When asked if Fox’s directions had left him confused, he responded: "I guess it’s fair to say, yes."

The transfer form is a key piece of evidence in the inquiry.

Earlier testimony from other Halifax police officers indicates there was a general lack of understanding of how the form was supposed to be used, who was supposed to fill it out and what authority it provided.

Const. Steve Hillier testified that he didn’t even know the form existed until Tuesday, even though he was Haislip’s partner on the day Hyde was released from the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.

Hyde was eventually taken back to the police station for booking.

Haislip said he relayed MacIntyre’s instructions to a senior officer at the station, but he was given no assurances they would be acted on.

The officer said he assumed officials would see the form and get Hyde assessed.

However, Hyde was later transferred to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, where he died the following morning after struggling with correctional officers.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer listed the cause of death as excited delirium due to paranoid schizophrenia. He concluded the use of the stun gun was not a factor.

In earlier testimony, another officer said he placed his right foot on Hyde’s back for more than 30 seconds as officers struggled to restrain him after the multiple Taserings at the police station.

Const. Christopher MacMahon said he didn’t lift his foot off Hyde until another officer said it appeared he had stopped breathing and was turning blue.

MacMahon insisted he did not place any pressure on Hyde’s back as three other officers struggled to control him in a hallway off the station’s booking room.

He said he wanted to stop Hyde from attacking the officers.

"I placed my right foot on his back should he flip over," he explained. "I put it there as a precautionary measure should he roll over and try to resist."

After watching a surveillance video of the incident, MacMahon estimated he kept his foot on Hyde’s back for 37 seconds.

Outside the hearing room, Kevin MacDonald, a lawyer for the Hyde family, said it would be reasonable to assume Hyde was out of breath after struggling with the officers and any amount of weight placed on his torso could have affected his breathing.

"I believe that is significant," he said.

"Mr. Hyde had just been through quite a struggle and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say he was out of breath and any amount of weight on Mr. Hyde’s torso when he’s in the prone position, with hands cuffed behind his back and feet up towards his rear end — I think that is a significant issue."

Hyde’s struggle with police began after a special constable told him he had to use a serrated cutting tool to remove the string that was holding up his shorts.

Photograph of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre courtesy of the Capital District Health Authority.