Whitehorse jail denies man was beaten in the arrest processing unit
CBC
The Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC) has responded to a lawsuit alleging a man experiencing mental health issues was badly beaten in the arrest processing unit last year.
It claims staff reacted appropriately to the situation.
The jail, as well as the Attorney General of Yukon, the WCC's superintendent, the WCC's manager of correctional services and five corrections officers, filed a collective statement of defence to the Yukon Supreme Court on Dec. 10 denying any wrongdoing.
All nine are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Dennis Day in August, who was arrested in February 2020 after an "incident" outside the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter and brought to the WCC's arrest processing unit.
There, Day alleges he did not receive a medical assessment and was not properly searched even though he was showing signs of mania, with the situation culminating in him setting a blanket on fire with a lighter in his cell.
Day's lawsuit claims the five corrections officers "[stormed] in with full riot gear without attempting to de-escalate the situation," with two of them "pushing him with extreme force with a shield into the wall of the unit, causing him to fall, hitting his head against the wall, punching him, and violently restrained him with a painful wrist hold."
The statement of defence, however, claims the corrections officers gathered outside of Day's cell after realizing there was a fire inside and were not wearing any "special clothing" or carrying any "additional items," other than one officer who had a shield.
The officer with the shield spoke with Day and requested he drop the blanket and come out of the cell, the document claims, but Day refused. It says the corrections officers entered the cell to try and take the burning blanket away and move Day to another cell that wasn't filled with smoke, but Day allegedly continued to hold the blanket in front of himself while backing away from officers.
The document claims Day then "made contact with the bed and fell," with his head hitting the wall. The officers then handcuffed him and got him medical attention for the cut on his head.
"The Defendants met the standard of care that would be expected of an ordinary, reasonable and prudent person in the circumstances," the statement of defence says, adding that the corrections officers "did not apply force" to Day or, in the alternative, applied a reasonable amount.
The statement also denies Day's rights were violated or that he suffered any injuries as a result of the incident, but that if he did, they were the result of his own actions, including failing to turn over the lighter, setting his blanket on fire and not complying with corrections officers' directions.
The statement of defence also says that the arrest processing unit "is not a health care facility" and asks for Day's lawsuit to be dismissed.
The case has yet to go to trial.
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