'New evidence' emerges in 2015 death of Somali man with mental illness in CBSA custody

New information has emerged in the death of Abdurahman Hassan, a Somali man with mental illness, who died while being restrained in immigration custody in 2015, Ontario's chief coroner's office says.

The discovery has forced the postponement of the inquest into Hassan's death, which had already been delayed once.

In an email to CBC News, Stephanie Rea, spokesperson for the province's chief coroner's office said, "All parties in the inquest did everything they could to maintain the start date, but new evidence that could not be foreseen has come to light."

Rea did not elaborate on the nature of the new evidence. 

The province first announced an inquest into the death of the 39-year-old in late October. The date was originally set for Nov. 29, but was later rescheduled to begin Dec. 6.

A new date for the inquest has not been set. 

"It was decided that in the best interest of the inquest the start date would be postponed," Rea told CBC News. 

The province earlier announced the inquest, which is mandatory under the Coroner's Act, would hear from approximately 20 witnesses. A jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further such deaths. 

It's been six years since Hassan died in hospital on July 11, 2015, after being transferred from the Central East Correctional Centre, otherwise known as Ontario's Lindsay jail.

Hassan, who the province's police watchdog later noted suffered from "significant" mental health issues, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, had been in the custody the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for three years awaiting deportation.

"Hassan was the youngest son of a family that had fled from war-torn Somalia, seeking a better life in Toronto," Senator Mobina Jaffer said in 2016 while raising concerns over the Canada Border Services Agency Act.

Approximately one year after his death, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) cleared two police officers, one with the Peterborough Police Service and the other with Ontario Provincial Police, of any responsibility.

According to a 2016 SIU report into Hassan's death, on the night of June 10, 2015, two police officers, five nurses and three security guards entered an "isolation room" where he was being held, and attempted to sedate him. The SIU report indicated Hassan had been ingesting clumps of his own hair as well as feces.

Together with the security guards, the officers held down Hassan's legs and held a towel to his mouth "to prevent him from biting and spitting," the report.