Days before violent restraint, jail guards filmed Soleiman Faqiri's declining state to try to get help
CBC
Jail guards desperate to get Soleiman Faqiri help broke protocol, using one of their phones to film the 30-year-old inside his cell as his condition deteriorated.
The approximately 13-minute-long video filmed on Dec. 11, 2016 shows Faqiri inside his cell at the Central East Correction Centre, smeared with feces and urine, as the guards sought to gain his trust to take him for a shower.
The video, shown to jurors at the inquest into Faqiri's death, captures in painful detail of Faqiri's state four days before his death at the Ontario jail after being violently restrained by guards. In it, Faqiri is seen in a part of the jail called 2-seg, before his final transfer to maximum segregation ahead of his death. The inquest is expected to make the video available later Wednesday.
Jurors were warned the footage would evoke a "strong emotional response" and might be "heartbreaking" to watch.
Presiding officer Dr. David Cameron said there had been much deliberation as to whether the footage should be shown, but that it was concluded it needed to be.
"It's crucial that you see this," he told the jury. "It's not intended to cause discomfort but to provide the full understanding of the circumstances of Mr. Faqiri."
The video begins with a guard speaking to Faqiri through the window of his cell.
Faqiri can also be seen at the window, as the guard asks him who he doesn't trust.
The guard then asks Faqiri if they can take him to the showers to get cleaned up. Faqiri appears to pace away from the window and back again for the next few moments as the guard engages him, asking gently if he'll come with them for a shower.
Meanwhile, the guard behind the camera describes the conditions inside, zooming into the cell.
"There's a stench of feces, urine and vomit," a guard is heard saying.
Inside, a toilet appears to be clogged, tissues are seen all over the ground, and Faqiri is at one point seen lying down on the floor, seemingly unaware of the conditions in his cell.
"You've got some stuff all over you," the guard on screen tells Faqiri, again trying to coax him into being handcuffed so he can be escorted to the shower.
"Soleiman, come talk to me," the guard says. He repeatedly asks, "Do you trust me?"
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