Trial begins for Manitoba correctional officer charged in inmate's death

The trial for a Manitoba correctional officer charged in the death of an Indigenous inmate has started.

The trial for a Manitoba correctional officer charged in the death of an Indigenous inmate has started.

Dozens of people sat in the gallery of a Manitoba provincial court room Friday as the trial of Robert Jeffrey Morden got underway.

Morden has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life, in the connection with the death of William Ahmo.

Ahmo had been an inmate at the Headingley Correctional Centre. Police have previously said the 45-year-old man had been involved in a standoff with correctional officers on Feb. 7, 2021, and died days later on Feb. 14. 2021.

Morden has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“On the afternoon in question, Mr. Ahmo began to be very aggressive and belligerent,” Ontario Crown Prosecutor Jason Nicol, who was brought in for the trial, told the court.

“Much of it was captured on video, which we will see.”