Corrections officers, dentist charged with assault related to video of work on inmate's teeth
Civil suit launched last year against provincial government, 3 dentists and 2 corrections officers
Two Newfoundland correctional officers and a dentist are facing charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, after a video circulated online appearing to show one of the officers performing dental surgery on an inmate while the other recorded it, resulting in a civil lawsuit.
Correctional officers Roy Goodyear of Carmanville and Ronald McDonald of Trinity, along with Dr. Louis Bourget of Nova Scotia, are charged in relation to the incident and set to appear in provincial court in Gander on April 6.
The video is also at the centre of a civil lawsuit filed late last year.
According to a statement of claim filed Dec. 4, Blair Harris, an inmate at Bishop's Falls Correctional Centre, was taken by corrections staff to the Gander Family Dental Clinic for dental surgery on Oct. 16..
The statement of claim says during the surgery — performed by oral surgeon Bourget — McDonald was permitted to do a procedure while Harris was sedated, while Goodyear recorded it and later distributed the video.
Harris had been serving 82 days at the time and has since been released. His lawyer, Bob Buckingham, previously declined to say why Harris was incarcerated.
WATCH | Heather Gillis speaks with Bob Buckingham in December about the lawsuit:
The claim states that on Nov. 19, Harris was told by Daniel Chafe, provincial superintendent of prisons, that he had obtained the video, and a day later Harris was told both McDonald and Goodyear had been fired.
As a result of the surgery, according to the statement of claim, Harris has "suffered physical and psychological injuries including, but not limited to, pain, bruising, the need for a subsequent dental surgery, stress, anxiety, depression and fear for personal safety."