Advertisement
Canada markets closed
  • S&P/TSX

    21,837.18
    -11.97 (-0.05%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,149.42
    +32.33 (+0.63%)
     
  • DOW

    38,790.43
    +75.66 (+0.20%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7386
    -0.0003 (-0.04%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.67
    -0.05 (-0.06%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    89,780.07
    -1,469.48 (-1.61%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,165.40
    +1.10 (+0.05%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,024.74
    -14.59 (-0.72%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.3400
    +0.0360 (+0.84%)
     
  • NASDAQ futures

    18,184.75
    -46.75 (-0.26%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    14.33
    -0.08 (-0.56%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,722.55
    -4.87 (-0.06%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    39,549.39
    -191.05 (-0.48%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6790
    -0.0002 (-0.03%)
     

Province denies claim Headingley inmate was pushed down stairwell

Province denies claim Headingley inmate was pushed down stairwell

The Province of Manitoba is denying allegations from a former inmate of Headingley Correctional Centre who claims staff at the jail pushed him down a stairwell, seriously injuring him.

Michael Joseph Haywood, 29, is suing the province and five corrections staff members. He alleges four staff shoved him down a stairwell in April 2016, and another abused him as he recovered in hospital.

In a statement of claim filed in March, Haywood alleges the four staff entered his dorm on April 5, 2016, and ordered him to kneel and put his hands behind his back. He complied, the statement of claim says, but officers used "physical force" to pull him to his feet to handcuff him, when he stumbled.

He was then held to the floor and pepper-sprayed, the statement alleges. As he was escorted from the dorm to a stairwell, it's alleged Haywood was "shoved down a flight of stairs" by the four corrections staff.

ADVERTISEMENT

Haywood's lawyer, Martin Pollock, told CBC News in March that his client sustained serious injuries, including the loss of three teeth along with a skull and forehead laceration, scarring, seizures and a concussion. Court documents state he also had to undergo surgery for a catheter.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

In a statement of defence filed last week, the province denies that any correctional officer applied excessive force in the case, including an allegation that a correctional officer intentionally used a hospital restraint to inflict pain on Haywood.

Instead, the province says any injuries Haywood suffered in the course of his restraint and transfer to hospital were caused by his own negligence, "as he failed to have regard for his own safety and was resistive and aggressive and posed a threat to the officers dealing with him."

'Reasonable and proportional' force: province

The document states correctional officers did attend Haywood's dorm and order him to kneel and put his hands behind his back. Officers attended because of reports from other inmates concerned about Haywood's "bizarre behaviour," the statement of defence says.

Haywood initially complied, the province alleges, but when officers tried to handcuff him, he began to "violently struggle."

"At all times the force used by the officers was reasonable and proportional to the resistance being offered by the plaintiff," the document states. Such use of force is authorized by Manitoba's Correctional Services Act, the statement says.

When officers had control of Haywood, they began to escort him to the medical unit, which required going down a flight of stairs, the document states.

"Near the bottom of the stairs, suddenly and without warning, the plaintiff lunged, stumbled, or otherwise stopped using his legs to support himself and fell forward a short distance," it reads.

The province acknowledges Haywood was injured, but denies the injuries were as extensive as described.

The province suggested Haywood's claim should be dismissed with costs.