THREE years ago, a mentally ill man died in custody 30 hours after being Tasered at an HRM police station. Howard Hyde’s heart stopped and he [pictured] had to be revived. The subsequent inquiry determined that it was a restraint hold — properly applied a day later by correctional officers — which caused his heart to stop forever.
Mr. Hyde’s death could have been avoided if he had been handled differently at every turn. Many Nova Scotians still suspect the Tasering was a contributing factor.
Ironically, they might be surprised to hear that many Quebecers were left wondering last week why Montreal police didn’t Taser a mentally ill man who allegedly charged them with a knife. Tragically, the suspect was shot dead instead, and an innocent bystander was killed in the crossfire.
We do not yet know the answers to these questions. If the officers believed they were in immediate, mortal danger, they would not have reached for a (generally) non-lethal weapon. Most likely, they were not armed with Tasers anyway — the Montreal force only has 42 stun guns on hand, compared to Toronto’s 700.
The use of Tasers, especially on emotionally disturbed people, is an emotional issue. But last week, Nova Scotia contributed something useful to the debate: the voice of reason.
In becoming the first province to clarify the rules of engagement in such circumstances, Justice Minister Ross Landry has found the right balance and created a model for other jurisdictions to follow.
We agree with Nova Scotia’s new guidelines that law enforcement officers should consider whether an agitated person is mentally ill and do everything in their power to de-escalate a confrontation, before deploying a stun gun.
We further agree with the precaution — although it’s not always practical — of calling paramedics to the scene before making the call to Taser a medically precarious or disturbed individual.
Most important, police as well as correctional and sheriff’s officers in Nova Scotia will be better trained to recognize signs of a mental illness.
The Hyde inquiry made the salient point that the jail guards didn’t know how to de-escalate confrontations. Better training is certainly the key to enforcing this province’s policy of minimizing harm to the mentally ill.
(edits@herald.ca)
Anne Derrick, In the Matter of a Fatality Inquiry Regarding the Death of Howard Hyde, Report pursuant to the Fatality Investigations Act (2010).
By Kim Brooks (pictured)
Long overdue, in 2010 Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (The United States has yet to ratify the Convention.) While countries can ratify conventions at the international level, it is often the case that only in translation to our domestic, sometimes even local, contexts do we see the real effects of our commitments.
Judge Anne Derrick’s piece, a report on the death of Howard Hyde ordered by Nova Scotia’s Minister of Justice, pushes at the boundaries of what most of us would consider scholarship; yet, it is the most interesting piece of scholarly work motivated by equality considerations that has crossed my desk in the last several months. It provides a marvellous illustration of the values reflected in the Convention played out against one very specific set of facts.
Howard Hyde, who was experiencing a recurrence of his chronic schizophrenia, was arrested by the Halifax Regional Police on November 21, 2007, after assaulting his common law partner. Mr. Hyde tried to escape from the police when he was being booked. A conducted energy weapon was twice used to shock Mr. Hyde. After additional struggles, Mr. Hyde collapsed and stopped breathing. He was revived and taken to the hospital. After recovering at the hospital, Mr. Hyde was discharged once again to the police. Later in the day, he appeared in court and was remanded to a correctional facility for the evening. Mr. Hyde did not sleep that night.
On November 22, while being transported to court, Mr. Hyde attempted to escape from correctional officers. He was restrained in a cell by correctional officers and stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at 8:43 a.m.
This is the story that gave rise to the inquiry and the subsequent inquiry report. Even in its simple telling, drawn from the Preface of the report, the terror that a man living with a mental illness must have felt through the whole ordeal, and the inadequacy of the institutional response to his needs, is apparent.
The report deserves to be read in its entirety – all 7 parts, 57 chapters, 462 pages. Rooted in the experience of one man, in one small corner of the world, the inquiry report demands broad readership.
Following a moving introduction and preface, the report reviews the factual narrative (Part II), outlines the cause and manner of death (Part III), addresses a range of issues that arise from the inquiry (Part IV), delineates the major findings (Part V), reviews changes since the time that Mr. Hyde died (Part VI), and provides for recommendations (Part VII) and a conclusion (Part VIII).
Let me highlight two aspects of the report, simply as a teaser. First, the report’s 80 recommendations are essential ground for equality scholars with an interest in policy-relevant scholarship. It might be noted that the recommendations appropriately do not focus on the assault of Mr. Hyde’s common law partner (although the need for appropriate accommodation for accused persons living with mental illnesses is underscored); rather, they are focused on the interaction between mental health and the criminal justice system. The recommendations cover everything from the importance of developing a provincial mental health strategy that ensures coordination of care, integration of services and supports, and monitors quality and outcomes (Recommendation 1) to implementing a diversion program, including pre-charge diversion, for accused persons with mental illness (Recommendation 10) to training police with an eye to the overarching purpose of the development of a culture of respect and empathy for persons with mental illness in the justice system (Recommendation 49).
Second, the report is beautifully written. Let me draw from the conclusion, which demonstrates more than ably the skill of the author and her ability to cut to the core of the issues before her:
"At an immediate, fundamental level, what Mr. Hyde needed was human contact, reassurance and kindness. The evidence discloses how well he responded, even when somewhat agitated, to simple but effective interactions that incorporated these elements. Certain police officers, sheriffs and correctional officers were all successful in their interactions with Mr. Hyde utilizing approaches that were empathetic, respectful and caring. Even though he was acutely ill, Mr. Hyde was reassured and comforted “by talking to him.”3 Understanding this is to understand Mr. Hyde’s humanity and recognize in him, ourselves." (P. 388, footnotes removed)
I might conclude just by saying, briefly, something about the value of understanding this report as a form of scholarship. If the highest calling of scholarship is to reveal the truth of the world, and perhaps further to reason about what that truth should be, then this report fits within the core of that ambition. The report contributes to our knowledge about mental illness, the interaction between human beings experiencing a form of mental illness and the criminal justice system, and the potential to recognize and appreciate the fullness of the human experience. It is, in that regard, scholarship of discovery. In addition, Judge Derrick draws together diverse strands of evidence and weaves those together analytically, in a way that demonstrates the scholarship of integration. Finally, the report’s provision of thoughtful and detailed recommendations is exemplary of scholarship of application.
The report’s conclusion section opens with a quote from T.S. Eliot. It might be used to reveal the connection between the work of Judge Derrick in this report and the explorations we all take as scholars:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
– T.S. Eliot
By The Canadian PressImage credit
New provincial guidelines on the use of Tasers by police in Nova Scotia have been approved and will be released soon, Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured] said Thursday.
Three weeks ago, in response to an inquiry report into the death of a mentally ill Halifax man, Landry said the guidelines would be released within two weeks.
He now says he has reviewed and signed off on the guidelines and expects they will be made public within the next week or so.
Landry declined to say whether the rules would restrict Taser use against mentally ill people, but added that they would not be a major departure from national standards.
"We’re in line with the overall federal position," said Landry. "I think there are a couple of areas that we’ve probably tightened up ... and I believe it will meet our needs at this time."
The issue is a contentious one because the inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde recommended that Tasers not be used on emotionally disturbed people unless all attempts at de-escalation have failed.
Hyde died in November 2007 at a Halifax jail, 30 hours after police had Tasered him multiple times during a psychotic episode. But the inquiry concluded the Tasering did not cause his death.
Federal guidelines say the use of stun guns should be avoided where possible on women known to be pregnant, the elderly, young children and visibly frail people. The rules also say that the weapons should not be used on a restrained subject or on a person in control of a moving vehicle.
There are no references to mental illness in the national rules, but Landry said it would be addressed in Nova Scotia’s guidelines. He didn’t elaborate.
By Marilla Stephenson (pictured)Image credit
What’s the difference between "excited delirium" and "autonomic hyperarousal state?"
Not much. In fact, in the provincial government’s response to the Hyde Inquiry report, the second term is used as a replacement for the first.
The inquiry, headed last year by provincial court Judge Anne Derrick, studied the death of Howard Hyde, a Dartmouth man who died in custody in 2007 at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth. Hyde suffered from mental illness and the cause of his death was initially identified by a coroner as "excited delirium."
Derrick rejected that as a "red herring." She found that Hyde died as a result of a restraint technique used on him by guards during a struggle.
Hyde had been repeatedly shocked with a stun gun during his 30 hours in custody. Derrick found that while the use of the stun gun did not cause Hyde’s death, the repeated shocks contributed to his deteriorating mental state.
Derrick’s report also strongly called for improved training for law enforcement officers who come in contact with people suffering from mental illness. The judge painted a clear path towards the use of de-escalation techniques in advance of the use of stun guns.
But the province seems to be struggling to find the right balance between public safety issues and the use of stun guns by officers. It has yet to finalize its guidelines for stun gun use, though Justice Minister Ross Landry said Thursday they will be released within a few weeks.
The minister did not explain why there has been a delay in issuing the guidelines or why, if only a few more weeks were needed, the province’s response to the inquiry report was not delayed so the documents could be released together.
But it speaks volumes that the use of the stun guns has already dropped by over 70 per cent since Hyde’s death in 2007, as The Canadian Press reported on Thursday.
In addressing what is now being described as an "autonomic hyperarousal state," the report released Thursday did not rule out using a stun gun on a person who may be mentally ill. But plenty of work remains to be done on the training side of the equation.
"Law enforcement officers must have appropriate tools to assist them in maintaining public safety," says the report. "At the same time, people living with mental illness may already be experiencing a high level of anxiety and the use of restraint could escalate the situation.
"The province and policing partners agree that the use of conducted energy weapons should only occur when a person’s behaviour is aggressive or violent and could harm the person or the public or the police officer. Additional direction is required regarding the restraint of individuals with mental illness."
The delay in providing that direction is not explained but Landry is clearly not comfortable with the current level of knowledge and training.
"It’s very difficult in situations where . . . there’s a high level of disturbance for the police officer to determine whether the person is suffering from mental illness," the minister told reporters on Thursday after the response was released.
In fairness to police, officers are often called on to make very quick decisions about the use of force in highly charged situations. But the death of Howard Hyde, among other cases, provides a reminder of the responsibilities that accompany the use of force, including the use of stun guns and other various forms of restraint.
There are federal guidelines available to help officers make those judgment calls and the province has said its stun gun rules will consider the federal document as well as expert advice provided by a panel of psychiatrists.
Derrick was clearly on the right track in emphasizing the need for much better levels of training. And in fairness to the province, some progress has already been made in addressing areas of concern raised in the inquiry report.
But the wheels continue to grind slowly towards the judge’s most important recommendation, adopting a provincial mental health strategy. The government is still waiting for a report from stakeholders.
It has been nearly two years since the NDP formed government and promises to improve mental health policies and services are growing stale.
(mstephenson@herald.ca)
Justice minister promises rules resulting from Hyde inquiry will be released soon
By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
More than three years after the jail cell death of a mentally ill man, the province’s Justice Department has yet to introduce new guidelines describing when peace officers can use Tasers.
Howard Hyde died on Nov. 22, 2007, after a struggle with guards at a Halifax-area jail. His tragic story attracted national attention because Halifax police Tasered him multiple times during a psychotic episode about 30 hours before he died.
In December of last year, provincial court Judge Anne Derrick released a fatality inquiry report that concluded the Tasering did not cause the death of the 45-year-old musician, who had long suffered from schizophrenia.
However, Derrick did find that the Tasering worsened Hyde’s rapidly deteriorating mental state, and she recommended that stun guns should not be used to immobilize emotionally disturbed people unless crisis intervention techniques have failed.
In its formal response to Derrick’s report, the provincial government said Thursday its revamped guidelines are still being finalized.
Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured] said he is still concerned about the ability of police officers to recognize mentally ill people in distress.
"It’s very difficult in situations where . . . there’s a high level of disturbance for the police officer to determine whether the person is suffering from mental illness," Landry, a former RCMP officer, told a news conference.
Landry said he had hoped to have the guidelines ready before the government issued its response to Derrick’s inquiry. He didn’t say why there was a delay, but he confirmed the new rules will be released within two weeks.
During Derrick’s fatality inquiry, which lasted 11 months, Halifax Regional Police argued that its officers are trained not to stun anyone until de-escalation techniques have been tried. But Derrick rejected that position, saying police policy and the province’s standards made no mention of this requirement.
Despite the absence of new guidelines, the government’s response indicates police have already changed the way they use so-called conducted energy weapons.
Since 2007, the year Hyde died, police use of the type of stun gun used on the man has dropped by 74 per cent in Nova Scotia.
Landry said the dramatic decline was the result of a growing body of knowledge about the weapon. He said police were still learning about the impact of the weapon in 2007 when a medical examiner declared Hyde’s death was caused by a condition known as excited delirium.
The condition, also known as autonomic hyperarousal, is characterized by increased strength, paranoia and suddenly violent behaviour marked by profuse sweating and an elevated heart rate. Hyde demonstrated most of the traits in the hours before he died.
However, Derrick’s report rejected excited delirium as the cause of death, finding instead the death was caused by Hyde’s struggle with jail guards. The judge concluded the guards applied restraint techniques that may have interfered with Hyde’s breathing.
Kevin MacDonald, the lawyer representing Hyde’s sister, Joanna Blair, said his client was troubled by the fact that the government’s response says that police and corrections officials require a clear understanding of how conducted energy weapons may affect people in an autonomic hyperarousal state.
"There appears to be a suggestion that the police be trained to recognize the symptoms of (excited delirium) when . . . judge Derrick’s report states that the province should not emphasize in its policies or training the phenomenon of excited delirium," MacDonald said in an interview.
"It’s significant because excited delirium . . . can be used as a justification for the use of force, which is what happened in Mr. Hyde’s case. I think it’s wrong that they’re taking this position. It’s contrary to what judge Derrick found, and it indicates there’s not an acceptance of the cause of the death."
In her inquiry report, Derrick said she agreed with one expert who testified that citing excited delirium as a cause of death resulted in Hyde being "identified as the culprit."
"(Derrick) specifically cautioned police officers . . . from looking for signs of excited delirium," MacDonald said. "And here is the province suggesting they’re going to train them in recognizing it."
Most of Derrick’s 80 recommendations called for improved training, more funding for mental health services and better co-ordination and communication between justice and health officials.
On Thursday, Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said the province has already implemented some of the judge’s recommendations, but some will have to wait because the government has yet to receive a final report from a committee appointed last year to draft a provincial mental health and addictions strategy.
"There are a number of actions and activities that are very significant that will make a real difference for people who are suffering from a mental illness," MacDonald said, adding that 911 dispatchers have been given a standardized checklist that will help them recognize mental health issues.
Among other things, the province has increased crisis intervention training for police and health-care professionals, and it has established a new, psychiatric intensive care unit at the East Coast Forensic Hospital near Halifax.
As well, a new mental health and justice committee has been appointed, and the province is spending $4 million this year on residential units for people recovering from mental illness.
Aside from the money for the residential units, the province provided no other cost estimates.
Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, said the government’s moves represent an important first step.
"There’s a lot of work to be done yet," he said after the government report was released. "Things have changed immensely because of (Howard Hyde’s) death . . . I think that things are going to change substantially."
Hyde Report a positive step, says schizophrenia society bossPhotograph by Peter Parsons, The Chronicle Herald.
By Ian Fairclough | FIVE QUESTIONS
Last week, a provincial court judge released a long-awaited report from the inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde, a Nova Scotia man with schizophrenia who died in jail a day after being arrested by police.The report contained 80 recommendations and was welcomed by Stephen Ayer [pictured], the executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.
Q: What’s the most important lesson to be learned from the death of Howard Hyde?
A: There are three really important lessons; it’s hard to pick one of them.
The most important lesson is a combination of the need for increased education around mental illness and what to do when encountering a person who is in a state of psychosis.
There is also the need for communication not only with the individual who is in the psychotic state, but also communication between different agencies that would be interacting with that person, from the mobile mental health crisis team to 911 to the responding officers. Communications has to be better.
In relation to that is response. If we could increase the education and training of people who respond to situations where an individual is in a crisis with a psychotic episode, they would be able to communicate effectively between themselves and the other agencies or services involved, and then the response would be the most appropriate response for that individual.
Q: What’s the first thing that should be done?
A: We have to have some empathy and some humanity in terms of dealing with people who have a psychiatric emergency, no matter what the circumstances may be.
Q: What do you think it would take to change the way police and the justice system deal with mental health consumers?
A: One of the deputy sheriffs did a great job trying to calm Mr. Hyde down to the best of his ability. He took two hours to talk to Howard Hyde to get some insight into what was going on, so there are people who are understanding and empathetic within the system already.
I’m sure there are more than (him). I think police and correctional services need to take a look at their staff and identify people who would be most appropriate for training in regard to working with people who are having a psychiatric emergency and being able to understand how to deal with it appropriately and get the person the help they need.
Q: How are the supporters of people with schizophrenia reacting to the results of the inquiry?
A: Very positively, and I am as well.
As I reflect now on the report and having delved deeper into it over the last couple of days, my response is the same as it was initially. This is an incredible piece of work by an incredible person — Judge Derrick — and when this was released, I said it’s a watershed day for the people of Nova Scotia and all people who live with mental illness in their families. It’s so comprehensive and the recommendations are so thorough and so important. I continue to believe that and hope the report will be taken seriously by government and others who need to make changes within the way they provide services.
Q: How optimistic are you that at least some of these recommendations will be instituted quickly, and how likely do you think it is that they’ll all be accepted?
A: In terms of the word quickly, I’m not very optimistic at all. In fact, I’m quite pessimistic, because this government has shown that even though it talks the talk, so to speak, and we have a health minister who is a former social worker and who worked at the Nova Scotia Hospital years ago and campaigned on the fact that mental health was going to be a high priority, when push comes to shove and the rubber hits the road, she’s nowhere to be found in terms of making some changes.
That includes support for community organizations such as ours that are on the front lines dealing with crisis calls.
BY THE NUMBERS
- About one per cent of Nova Scotians are living with schizophrenia.
- About 23,000 family members are affected by schizophrenia in that they are trying to help their loved ones deal with it.
- About 30 per cent of people with schizophrenia completely recover, and another 40 per cent recover well enough to work with limitations. The other 30 per cent are so affected they are difficult to treat.
- The Hyde Inquiry [report] contained 80 recommendations among its 462 pages.
Source: Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia
- In the past year, the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia answered more than 500 crisis calls and provided advice, information and assistance.
(ifairclough@herald.ca)
In Judge Anne Derrick, Howard Hyde finally has an advocate who sees the bigger picture. Sadly, proper perspective is the very thing he desperately needed from someone — anyone — the day he died three years ago.
That much is obvious from reading Judge Derrick’s findings into the chain of events that led to the death of this emotionally disturbed man. But those who comb through the inquiry report looking to pin blame will be disappointed. Howard Hyde — who suffered from schizophrenia, was off his medications and experiencing psychosis — was not a victim of incompetence. He was a victim of incoherence.
During every step of his odyssey in police, medical, court and correctional custody, Mr. Hyde came across professionals acting professionally. Even the most controversial and publicized episode — which led to Mr. Hyde’s multiple Tasering at a Dartmouth police station — is not a slam-dunk of police misbehaviour.
Judge Derrick notes that the booking officer who produced a tool with which to cut the lace on Mr. Hyde’s shorts before putting him in a cell did not mean to provoke or panic him.
“S/Cst. MacCormick uttered the words: ‘We’ll have to cut one of those balls off’ innocently, with no appreciation of the effect they would have on Mr. Hyde," she wrote.
Judge Derrick makes it clear that the Tasering did not cause Mr. Hyde’s death. Nor did he die of schizophrenia, as the medical examiner unhelpfully concluded. He did die some 30 hours later as a result of a struggle with Burnside jail correctional officers whose use of force, and of a restraint hold, she determined to be “reasonable and proportionate."
Ultimately, the real problem was not the performance of Mr. Hyde’s custodians per se, but crucial omissions cascading through the chain of custody. From the moment he was first picked up by police on a domestic abuse complaint, a pattern developed whereby relevant facts weren’t passed along. Legal and medical professionals got their wires crossed, made incorrect assumptions, acted on incomplete information. Cops were unaware of mental health resources available to them and guards didn’t know how to de-escalate confrontations with the emotionally disturbed.
Clearly, the province must begin by training its sights on retraining front-line staff.
(edits@herald.ca)
By Clare MellorKaren Ellet [pictured] says she still misses Howard Hyde’s amazing voice.
“I miss his voice, his beautiful singing voice," the Dartmouth woman said Thursday.
Ellet, who was Hyde’s common- law wife, said she has been dealing with her grief since he died on Nov. 22, 2007, after a violent conflict with jail guards at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.
But she is taking comfort in the recommendations resulting from the provincial inquiry into his death.
If the suggestions outlined in a report released Wednesday are adopted, they will make a huge difference in the way mentally ill people in crisis are dealt with, Ellet said.
“I am very pleased. She is a very compassionate judge," she said of Anne Derrick, the provincial court judge who helmed the 11-month fatality inquiry.
She said Hyde would be pleased with Derrick’s report, too.
“He would be ecstatic about it," Ellet said. “He would like to see (the recommendations) implemented, so the (report) is not sitting on a library shelf."
In her report, Derrick rejected a medical examiner’s conclusion that Hyde died of excited delirium and found instead that the struggle with the jail guards played a role in his death.
Hyde, a 45-year-old musician who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 20s, was having a psychotic episode at the jail when he was forced to lie on his stomach with his hands behind his back. The restraint technique may have interfered with his ability to breathe, Derrick found.
“He did not die because he was mentally ill," she wrote in her report.
Ellet said she still has difficulty thinking of the emotional and physical pain that Hyde endured in the last 30 hours of his life.
On the night of Nov. 21, 2007, Ellet called a crisis hotline to complain that Hyde had assaulted her while in a psychotic state.
Police arrested Hyde, but not before Ellet told them her husband had not been taking his medication and needed psychiatric help.
“Howard didn’t understand why he was in jail," she said. “He couldn’t comprehend his surroundings."
Ellet said she has been keeping a low profile due to her grief, but she believes it is important for her to speak up about the changes she thinks Hyde would have wanted to see in the justice system and in society at large.
“I believe he would want to have a professional such as a mental health provider to be with people who have a mental illness when they are in crisis, to speak on behalf of them," she said.
Ellet said Hyde would want all professionals to be issued handbooks so they could learn more about the signs and symptoms of mental illness and how to handle somebody who is having a psychotic episode. “Howard would want more housing available (for mentally ill people)," she said. “Howard found it horrific to know that people with mental illness are living in shelters and on the streets. It really upset him. He wished he could have done something but he didn’t know what to do."
Ellet said Hyde also would have wanted more research into the development of psychiatric drugs.
“Not all medications agree with each particular person," she said. “There are so many sideeffects."
More mental health funding and clubhouses, support groups and associations in support of the mentally ill would also be on Hyde’s list, Ellet said.
“I believe there is a large amount of fundraising that can make miracles happen to help (prevent) people with mental challenges from living on the streets," she said.
“Mental illness is no different from somebody walking around with diabetes."
Some of Derrick’s recommendations concern stun guns — she said they should not be used on people in a state of agitation due to a psychological disturbance, and changes should be made in the training for how to use them.
The judge also recommended that crisis intervention training be provided to all correctional officers at the Dartmouth jail and that several aspects of training in general be improved for jail guards in the province and for front-line police officers and doctors.
Ellet said it is poignant that the report on Hyde’s death came out on the 30th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon.
Hyde, who sang and played the saxophone, was also an extraordinary musician, she said.
“Howard had the musical ability to play anything," she said. “He had the most astounding voice you can imagine."
Also like Lennon, Hyde despised war. “He just wanted peace in the world," Ellet said.
(cmellor@herald.ca)
By Marilla Stephenson (pictured)
In the end, who failed Howard Hyde?
Perhaps, to some degree, we all did.
There is really no way to dress up the realities of mental illness. It is not pretty, and it can be a very tough challenge to support people in crisis. The people who live closest to those who suffer from mental illnesses are victims of the illnesses, too.
There is also no way to disguise or excuse how our society has continued to respond to people who experience mental illnesses. The stigmas are clear and well understood, even by young children in our schools. The branding begins early.
Hyde is the Dartmouth man who died in custody in 2007. He suffered from schizophrenia. The police were told of his mental illness when he was taken into custody over allegations of domestic abuse. He later died after an intense struggle with prison guards.
Provincial court Judge Anne Derrick released the fatal inquiry report into Hyde’s death on Wednesday. She firmly rejected a previous finding by a pathologist that he had died due to a condition termed "excited delirium."
Derrick dismissed that finding as a "red herring" that did not exist in Hyde’s case.
She also found that while the repeated use of a Taser on Hyde during his time in police custody "worsened the situation," it was not the cause of his death. She did, however, remind justice officials that so-called stun guns are to be used as an alternative to lethal force rather than as a front-line option to subdue suspects who are emotionally disturbed.
His death was accidental, Derrick found, but it came as a direct result of his struggle with prison guards.
In the comprehensive list of 80 recommendations, Derrick tossed the ball firmly into the hands of the provincial government.
She begins by calling for the establishment of a long-promised, but still absent, mental health strategy. It is clearly not by accident that this basic framework is at the top of the list as a necessary building block from which other improvements would naturally evolve.
The judge also calls on the province to increase funding for mental health, but not to do it by reallocating funds from within the existing envelope of health-care funding. This reflects the fact that mental health issues have for too long languished on the list of health-care priorities.
We are left with a fractured, often inaccessible mental health system where vanishing waiting lists are proudly waved around by government as proof of treatment for patients. Improvements are being made, and Derrick’s report makes note of policy changes that have already occurred in the justice system in the wake of Hyde’s death.
But it is hard to comprehend that none of the guards involved in the struggle with Hyde minutes before he died had any training to help them deal with prisoners who suffer from mental illness.
One seemingly innocuous recommendation, No. 49 on Derrick’s list, speaks volumes. Directed at justice system staff and other front-line officials who are in contact with prisoners who suffer from mental illness, it is brief and to the point:
"Training should have, as its overarching purpose, the development of a culture of respect and empathy for persons with mental illness in the justice system."
This is a statement that reaches beyond the justice system and into our society as a whole. While mountains have been moved in reducing the acceptance of stereotypes linked to mental illnesses, many of the most basic government services — justice and health among them — are still handcuffed by systemic ignorance.
The judge called for alternatives for people with mental illness who come in conflict with the law, and says the responsibility reaches well beyond the justice system.
"As the evidence before the inquiry has vividly illustrated, grasping this nettle is not just the responsibility of the justice system; creativity and commitment to change are required of the health system and the community, too."
The principles of respect and empathy provide a good place from which to start.
( mstephenson@herald.ca)
The Honourable Judge Anne S. Derrick (pictured) filed her report from the Fatality Inquiry into the Death of Howard Hyde on Wednesday, December 8th, 2010.
MacRury headed inquiry into jail cell death of mentally ill man
By LAURA FRASER Cape Breton Bureau | FIVE QUESTIONSDan MacRury [pictured] spent most of his first year as chief Crown attorney for the Cape Breton region juggling his new job with his responsibilities as counsel for the Howard Hyde inquiry.
The inquiry into the death of the mentally ill man while in custody was one of the province’s longest fatality probes.
But MacRury said he is used to tackling more than one job at a time. He will be the incoming vice-chairman for the criminal justice section of the Canadian Bar Association, and treasurer of the Nova Scotia branch.
He has also sat as president of the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Criminal Justice Association. And in his spare time, he goes fly-fishing and makes pasta.
He recently sat down with The Chronicle Herald to talk about his 24-year career shortly after he won the Canadian Bar Association’s 2010 John Tait Award of Excellence.
Q: What sparked your interest in public prosecution?
A: I’ve been involved in public service pretty well my entire career. First, I was at (Nova Scotia) Legal Aid and then moved over to the Crown.
I think it was sort of natural for me because public service and volunteerism are sort of virtues of my family. My entire family works as public servants.
My father worked as a hospital administrator and a city councillor here in Sydney. My mother was a nurse in detox. Both sisters work in health care, and in fact, I married a public servant. My wife’s a public servant.
It’s certainly something that was instilled in my family as being very important, to give back to your community and try to make a difference, and that’s really what I’ve been trying to do throughout my career.
Q: So what was it initially that interested you about law?
A: I had a very good professor who was sort of a mentor and went on to be a senator. John. B. Stewart was my professor at St. F.X., and he was somebody that always encouraged people to go into law, and I guess that was where my interest was tweaked at that point in time.
And certainly as a lawyer, I’ve had some great opportunities. I’ve been involved as a defence counsel in two murders and as a Crown in seven murder cases. I’ve appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada three times, one being the (John Robin) Sharpe case that dealt with the constitutionality of the (child) pornography provisions of the Criminal Code.
And I was a legal adviser in 2002 to the G7 finance ministers conference in terms of the law and its relation on lawful assembly and protests.
Q: Recently, you were the counsel for the Howard Hyde inquiry regarding the death of a man with schizophrenia who died 30 hours after he was Tasered while in police custody in Halifax. Can you tell us about that?
A: The Hyde inquiry, of course, was the longest fatality inquiry in Nova Scotia history, and that dealt with issues of how the mentally ill are dealt with by the criminal justice system and the mental health system. We’re now awaiting Judge (Anne) Derrick’s report and certainly hoping that there will be recommendations in relation to those areas as well.
One thing that I’ve found both as a legal aid lawyer and as Crown over the last 20 years is that, really, there are too many people that suffer from mental illness that are being dealt with by the criminal justice system instead of the mental health system. That’s something that I always felt was important to try to improve if we can.
Q: What do you remember about your first case?
A: When I first started out in New Glasgow (as a lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid), you dealt with a lot of people, and you realize that people don’t choose, and don’t have control over some of the circumstances (that affect criminal behaviour), whether it’s poverty or substance abuse. So a lot of times what you found as a legal aid lawyer is that people are just looking for help.
I guess one case that sort of stuck out in my mind is I represented a young man who had been institutionalized for most of his life, and disabled. It certainly brought home to me that sentencing sometimes has to be flexible because it was a serious offence that he was charged with and the jails couldn’t cope with him. We were able to speak with (the) correctional services (division of) Nova Scotia at the time and we were able to have him transferred to a hospital setting, which was more appropriate for him. He was able then to get at rehabilitative programs, and it was the only time he’d been involved in the criminal justice system that he was able to get programs to assist him. Certainly, that was very rewarding from my point of view. What we find is that when things aren’t as simple, you have to be a little innovative in terms of coming up with solutions to problems.
Q: You said that you’ve prosecuted seven murder cases.
A: One I got parachuted into. I think what you learn in this business is things happen on short notice. I had a vacation booked for New York City, and a colleague became very ill. With two weeks to go, I ended up being involved in the case in Halifax (R. vs. Assoun). And that was a long case where the accused fired three lawyers and was then self-represented, which was certainly a challenge.
I was involved in another case (R. vs. Tran) that was simultaneous translation in Vietnamese. In fact, while I was dealing with the Tran case . . . at the same time we were prosecuting another case called Simpson, which was somebody on a Cuban vessel that murdered somebody in Halifax Harbour. So, literally, we were going to jury on one case, and then up at the provincial court starting the other case, which was translated in Spanish.
The challenge in the case in the gentleman from Cuba is that all the witnesses were in Cuba and so we had to deal with Foreign Affairs to try to get them back in the country to testify . . . so it wasn’t your standard subpoenas. Certainly, that was a challenge, but an exciting case as well."
(lfraser@herald.ca)
Pursuant to the Fatality Investigations Act, S.N.S. 2001 C. 31
Presiding Judge:
The Honourable Judge Anne Derrick of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Inquiry Counsel:
Dan MacRury Q.C., Chief Crown Attorney for the Cape Breton Region
By Marilla Stephenson [pictured]A DEBATE OVER whether so-called "excited delirium" is a valid condition is a waste of time. What is more significant — in terms of how police and jail guards react to it — is the risk of death for a person in this state and how to best respond when high-risk situations unfold.
Last week Justice Minister Ross Landry released a report from an expert panel struck to review the condition last year. The panel was formed in response to the 2007 death of Howard Hyde of Dartmouth. He died in custody after a struggle with police. He had been shocked with a stun gun by them 30 hours earlier.
A death inquiry, led by Judge Anne Derrick, is already underway and its outcome is separate from the report. A pathologist has already concluded that Hyde died of excited delirium — a condition the panel says would be better labelled autonomic hyperactivity syndrome (AHS) — and not from the stun gun shock he received the day before.
We can expect from the inquiry, at the very least, another truckload of recommendations targeting how first responders deal with mentally ill people. A doctor who checked out Hyde after he was shocked with the stun gun has already testified that she would never have released him to the police had she known he would not receive the psychiatric assessment she had requested. Hours later, he was dead.
Dr. Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist at Dalhousie University, served as chairman of the panel. He told The Chronicle Herald in an interview that "the most important thing here is to realize that this is a medical emergency and that this situation requires the combined efforts of law enforcement and medical first responders."
Police and jail guards will get extra training to ensure they are better equipped to recognize the symptoms of AHS and to call in medical assistance in those circumstances, says Landry. This is one of the key recommendations in a report that contains many useful guidelines for moving forward towards better responses to people experiencing AHS.
Symptoms — which can lead to hyperthermia, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death — include extreme agitation, aggressive behaviour, paranoia or delirium, incoherent and rambling speech, extraordinary strength, numbness to pain, and profuse sweating.
The report says that "mortality rates are increased in the presence of the signs and symptoms of excited delirium — even with medical intervention or in the absence of use of restraints by law enforcement."
The panel also found that "it is reasonable to consider that, when further stressed by physical struggle or the application and continuation of physical restraints (including the CED), an individual exhibiting the syndrome of excited delirium may be at increased risk for sudden death.
"Similarly, the pre-existence of a medical or psychiatric condition (such as a psychotic illness, pre-existing cardiac condition, delirium with or without the use of psychostimulant drugs) may increase the risk for sudden death in an individual showing signs and symptoms consistent with excited delirium."
That is the nub of the issue: People who suffer from mental illnesses that end up in a state of excited delirium are at an increased risk of death. While police and jail guards may well be the people who are first required to be on the scene of such a situation, additional training is clearly needed to ensure they know when it is paramedics, rather than restraints and a physical struggle, that is more likely to bring a safe outcome to the situation.
Police officers and jail guards are often in very challenging, high-stress situations, where public safety, their own safety and the safety of the person they are trying to subdue must be judged at lightning speed.
They must be provided with every tool possible to make the right decisions in those moments. If that means more training to properly assess, arrest and/or subdue people with mental illness, then it should happen as soon as possible. Calling for medical assistance should be considered a first option, not a last resort.
Even one Howard Hyde outcome is one too many.
Phase one of inquiry into Taser death ends
By Megan O'Toole
Phase one of an inquiry into the death of a Nova Scotia man who was Tasered while in police custody ended yesterday, and experts say the process has underscored a dire need for changes in the treatment of mentally-ill prisoners.
After five weeks of testimony and a number of controversial witnesses, including officers involved in the struggle to subdue Howard Hyde of Dartmouth, N. S., the inquiry has been adjourned for two months.
Testimony to date has shown a number of systemic flaws, observers say, including a severe lack of co-ordination between police and health-care services.
"There were a lot of balls dropped," said Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, noting the case underscores the need for police to be better trained in how to handle mentally-ill prisoners. "Right from the get-go, police didn't give Howard a fair shake."
The paranoid schizophrenic, who reportedly harboured a deep fear of police, was initially arrested for assault after an argument with his girlfriend, who told authorities Mr. Hyde had not been taking his medication.
At that point, Mr. Hyde should have been taken to hospital for assessment and treatment, Mr. Ayer said, but instead he was taken to the Halifax police detachment. Rambling and in a psychotic state, Mr. Hyde apparently attempted to flee after a booking officer took out a knife to cut the drawstring off his shorts.
That prompted a violent struggle, captured on surveillance video and shown during the inquiry, in which a shirtless and frantic Mr. Hyde screams and struggles to escape. Police say they were concerned he would reach for a knife from a nearby drawer of weapons, and shocked him with the Taser to regain control. He collapsed and was taken to hospital.
The use of a Taser on a paranoid schizophrenic person, as an aggressive act, "could have a tendency to make things worse, to have the issue escalate out of control," noted University of Alberta psychiatrist Patrick White.
While hearing testimony from a couple of the officers involved in the scuffle, the inquiry learned -- contrary to earlier official reports -- that Mr. Hyde had not been asked to co-operate as officers struggled to handcuff him, nor was he warned the Taser would be deployed.
Chris Summerville of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada said a better technique would have been attempting to talk Mr. Hyde down from his psychotic state, then handcuffing him once he had calmed down. Police should be trained for such situations, Mr. Summerville said, but in many cases they are not.
Mr. Hyde's girlfriend, Karen Ellet, has said he "was treated as a prisoner, not as a mental-health patient."
After doctors cleared Mr. Hyde to leave the hospital, they requested he have a follow-up psychiatric examination after his morning court hearing, or that he be returned to the emergency room -- something the officers were not authorized to do.
Neither happened, and Mr. Hyde ended up back in his jail cell, where he died about 30 hours after receiving the initial Taser jolt. Nova Scotia's medical examiner pegged the cause of death as "excited delirium" linked to his mental illness.
Carol Tooton, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association's Nova Scotia division, says the case could have ended differently had Mr. Hyde received proper treatment for his schizophrenic condition. The inquiry, she noted, has underscored a staggering lack of co-ordination between police, mental-health workers, courts and hospital staff -- resulting in a failure to properly deal with a man travelling between those systems.
"We often talk about working in silos," Ms. Tooton said. "It seems that [those] systems really do operate independent of one another."
The inquiry resumes in October, with recommendations from Judge Anne Derrick expected next year.
By Marilla Stephenson [pictured]WHILE THE DEATH of Howard Hyde in a Dartmouth jail remains an incident of confusion and contradiction, the report from a British Columbia public inquiry this week was crystal clear: stun guns can kill.
The fatality inquiry called into Hyde’s death by the Nova Scotia government and the B.C. inquiry are different in many ways but they also have much in common: both deal with the death of a disturbed man who had earlier been Tasered by police officers.
The two men died about a month apart in 2007.
Robert Dziekanski died on the floor of the arrivals area of the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007 after officers used a stun gun to subdue him. The Polish man, who spoke no English, had been wandering the terminal for hours before becoming disruptive and exhibiting erratic behaviour. The RCMP were called in to deal with him, eventually delivering five Taser shocks before he collapsed and died.
Hyde died 30 hours after he had been Tasered by Halifax Regional police officers in November of the same year. The medical examiner ruled that his death, after a scuffle with guards at the jail a day after being arrested, was a result of "excited delirium" caused by paranoid schizophrenia.
The fatality inquiry into the Hyde case has different parameters from the B.C. inquiry. Judge Anne Derrick has not been tasked to assign blame in her findings.
In B.C., former judge Thomas Braidwood found that stun guns can kill or cause serious injury. As a result, the B.C. government has ordered the use of stun guns to be "severely restricted," but stopped short of an outright ban on the weapons, which have often been used to bring unruly suspects under control.
"Conducted energy weapons are unique — they are the only weapon designed to cause intense pain and to incapacitate through an electrical current," Braidwood said at a Vancouver news conference.
In releasing his report on Thursday, Braidwood noted that Tasers were introduced without prior independent government testing, relying instead on information from the manufacturers, the Canadian Press reported.
Braidwood issued 19 recommendations, including that police only use the weapons when someone is causing or is about to cause bodily harm. He said 25 people have died in Canada after being subjected to electrical shock from a stun gun.
He undertook a detailed review of existing research into Tasers. He concluded they are a better option for police than guns, noting the threat of a Taser has enabled some police forces to resolve up to 80 per cent of incidents.
But he also found that they can cause heart irregularities and are an especially high-risk weapon for those who are medically or emotionally compromised, particularly if they receive repeated shocks.
"Deploying a conducted energy weapon against an emotionally disturbed person is, in most cases, the worst possible response," said Braidwood.
Among his recommendations is a call for additional training to help police officers deal with emotionally disturbed people.
These findings will be of particular interest to the family and friends of Hyde, who have heard testimony at the Halifax inquiry from police officers and medical officials that seems, at times, at odds with common sense.
The inquiry has been told of procedural errors relating to Taser use by the officers involved in the incident, acknowledgement that written reports about Hyde’s time in custody are in conflict with what appears on security tapes, and a written doctor’s order that called for Hyde to receive a psychiatric assessment.
That never happened. Communication about Hyde’s condition appears to have been minimal among the police, medical staff who cared for Hyde after he was initially Tasered, and corrections staff. While the confusion that existed is apparent from testimony at the inquiry, there seems to have been little effort made to seek clarification.
One day later, Hyde was dead. Suggestions that jurisdictional limitations and ignorance of proper procedures may have prevented Hyde from getting the help he needed are far from good enough.
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.
The current investigation into the death of Howard Hyde is being conducted under the Fatality Investigations Act of Nova Scotia and is not a public inquiry under the Public [Inquiries] Act of Nova Scotia.
The difference is not merely a play on words because the outcomes can be completely different. Under the Fatalities Act, the findings of Judge Anne Derrick shall not contain any findings of legal responsibility. The judge may make recommendations to the Attorney General to help prevent whatever caused the death of Mr. Hyde from happening to someone else, but the scope of the inquiry is not as in-depth as a public inquiry would be.
In a public inquiry such as the Nunn Commission and the Westray Mine disaster, the scope of the inquiry was much more in-depth and a public inquiry is usually requested by the government.
The public should be better informed as to the difference between a fatality inquiry and a public inquiry. The main issues in this fatality inquiry are centered around the use of a Taser and how Mr. Hyde was treated while suffering from a mental illness.
A public inquiry should have been called by government because of the current controversy surrounding Taser use and mental illness awareness. This incident may have been the opportunity to equal the Nunn Commission in its recommendations, which went to government for implementation. This fatality inquiry is not a public inquiry and therefore will be limited in its findings, which is unfortunate.
Jim Hoskins, Halifax
By Oliver Moore
A police officer involved in the tasering of paranoid schizophrenic Howard Hyde could not explain why so much of his report was essentially identical to one written earlier by a colleague, but denied the suggestion he had "doctored" it.
The inquiry into the jailhouse death of Mr. Hyde also heard yesterday an allegation the unco-operative prisoner was sworn at during a rapidly escalating situation at police headquarters and told he would be "doing the ... dance next."
An altercation broke out immediately after and Mr. Hyde, who had been off his medication and acting erratically before his arrest, was tasered repeatedly. He died 30 hours later in a Dartmouth jail.
The inquiry into the November, 2007, death began hearing witnesses last week. Halifax Regional Police Constable Jonathan Edwards, the arresting officer, was on the stand all day yesterday.
Constable Edwards was one of many officers involved in the struggle that broke out during the booking. The fracas ended with the 45-year-old prisoner not breathing and having to be revived in a hallway. After he had accompanied Mr. Hyde to hospital, Constable Edwards returned to the police station to write up the incident.
A lawyer for Mr. Hyde's sister and her husband questioned the officer again and again yesterday about numerous similarities between his account and one drafted an hour earlier by Special Constable Gregory McCormick, the man who actually used the taser on Mr. Hyde.
"I am going to suggest today that you went in and used and doctored Special Constable McCormick's statement to create your own," Kevin MacDonald said. "These are identical words, they're his words ... you used his words."
Constable Edwards repeatedly denied having cribbed his colleague's report.
The inquiry also walked through the lead-up to the tasering, with Constable Edwards offering new details on the alleged risk posed by Mr. Hyde.
He testified that the booking room struggle brought the prisoner within reach of a drawer full of knives and other weapons. The drawer was unlocked and the one immediately above it was missing, he said, allowing a clear view of these weapons.
The prisoner received his first tasering seconds later.
Constable Edwards acknowledged that his notes or other paperwork do not include mention of concern over Mr. Hyde arming himself during the struggle. The officer explained the late revelation by saying he had a lot on his mind in the aftermath of the incident.
It was not clear why weapons were stored in an accessible drawer, though Constable Edwards said that is no longer the practice.
Also heard for the first time was his allegation that Mr. Hyde had earlier tried to reach for a cutting tool held by another officer, who intended to sever the drawstring of the prisoner's shorts.
That was not recorded by surveillance cameras, but some audio around the alleged incident was captured. It was then, during the rapidly building tension, Mr. MacDonald suggested, that one of the officers told Mr. Hyde he would be made to "dance."
THE SYSTEM for dealing with mental health emergencies in Nova Scotia broke down almost totally in the tragic case leading to the death of Howard Hyde.
A judicial inquiry into the circumstances of the Dartmouth man’s death in November 2007 has so far heard just a few days of testimony. Even so, it’s already abundantly clear that both better training for police officers on how to handle mental health cases as well as a stronger commitment across the justice system to properly deal with mental health issues are urgently needed.
When Mr. Hyde, who weeks earlier had stopped taking his medications to treat his schizophrenia, became violent on the night of Nov. 21, his common-law wife appropriately called the mental health emergency help line.
Mr. Hyde never got the help he needed.
Records show dispatch informed the officers of the mental health nature of the call. Mr. Hyde’s widow has testified she told at least one officer of her husband’s schizophrenia and the fact he’d been off his medications. Despite that, the officer who arrested Mr. Hyde told the inquiry he doesn’t recall any evidence at the scene that would have led him to reasonably assume a mental health problem.
After Mr. Hyde was Tasered twice at the police station after trying to escape and had to be revived using CPR, he was taken to the QEII emergency. The doctor who examined him obviously believed Mr. Hyde had mental health issues, as she gave the officers directions to return him to hospital if he could not get a psychiatric evaluation.
Her instructions were ignored. Instead, Mr. Hyde stayed in police custody, made a court appearance and then spent the night in the correctional facility in Burnside. When his wife called there to inform them of Mr. Hyde’s mental health condition, she testified staff told her they couldn’t deal with her because of confidentiality concerns.
The next morning, Mr. Hyde collapsed after a physical struggle with jail staff. He was pronounced dead at hospital shortly afterwards.
The police have admitted they could use more training on dealing with mental health issues.
There are still weeks of testimony left for Judge Anne Derrick to hear. The inquiry cannot find anyone liable, criminally or civilly.
Still, it’s clear the system badly mishandled a case involving mental health. Since Mr. Hyde was hardly the first or last person with mental health problems to come in contact with law enforcement, we look forward to Judge Derrick’s ideas on how to best fix what’s broken.
