Jail guard's video captures Soleiman Faqiri's declining condition days before his death
WARNING: This story contains graphic details
Jail guards desperate to get Soleiman Faqiri help broke protocol, using a hand-held camera to film the 30-year-old inside his cell as his condition deteriorated.
The approximately 13-minute-long video filmed on Dec. 11, 2016 shows Faqiri inside his cell at the Central East Correction Centre, smeared with feces and urine, as the guards sought to gain his trust to take him for a shower.
The video, shown to jurors at the inquest into Faqiri's death, captures in painful detail Faqiri's state four days before his death at the Ontario jail after being violently restrained by guards. In it, Faqiri is seen in a part of the jail called 2-seg, before his final transfer to maximum segregation.
Jurors were warned the footage would evoke a "strong emotional response" and might be "heartbreaking" to watch.
Presiding coroner Dr. David Cameron said there was much deliberation as to whether to show the video, but it was concluded it needed to be seen.
"It's crucial that you see this," he told the jury. "It's not intended to cause discomfort but to provide the full understanding of the circumstances of Mr. Faqiri."
At the time of his death, Faqiri, who suffered from schizoaffective disorder, was awaiting a medical evaluation at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. He had been charged with aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats following an altercation with a neighbour, but had not been convicted of any crime.
His cause of death, previously deemed unascertained, was later deemed to be restraint in a face-down position and injuries from his struggle with guards on Dec. 15. No one was ever charged in his death.
'Soleiman, come talk to me,' guard says
The video begins with a guard speaking to Faqiri through the window of his cell. Faqiri can also be seen at the window, as the guard asks him about who he trusts.
The guard then asks Faqiri if staff can take him to the showers to get cleaned up. Faqiri appears to pace away from the window and back again for the next few moments as the guard engages him, asking gently if he'll come with them.
Meanwhile, the guard behind the camera describes the conditions inside, zooming into the cell.
"There's a stench of feces, urine and vomit," a guard is heard saying.
Inside, a toilet appears to be clogged, tissues are seen all over the ground, and Faqiri is at one point seen lying on the wet floor, seemingly unaware of the conditions in his cell.
"You've got some stuff all over you," the guard on screen tells Faqiri, again trying to coax him into being handcuffed so he can be escorted.
"Soleiman, come talk to me," the guard says. He repeatedly asks, "Do you trust me?"
The guard tells Faqiri the plan: they'll put on his cuffs, get a sheet to cover him and take him to get cleaned up. Faqiri appears to be reassured and places his hands through the hatch of the door to be handcuffed.
"You're doing well ... I'm not going to hurt you," the guard reassures Faqiri.
The cell door then opens as a second guard wraps a sheet around Faqiri.
"I want to get you clean," a guard is heard saying as Faqiri is walked slowly down the stairs, toward the shower, where they're met by a third guard.
Faqiri enters the showers and the door is closed. He's then seen lying on the shower floor. A guard asks if he can stand so they can remove his cuffs to allow him to clean himself.
Guards explain he needs to push a button on the wall to turn the water on. Faqiri appears to be having difficulty understanding, and a guard appears to enter the shower, pressing the button for him.
Faqiri is then able to shower, nodding his head and seemingly talking to himself, before the video ends.
'Soleiman needed kindness,' says lawyer
Faqiri's family could not bring themselves to watch the video, said Edward Marrocco, one of their lawyers.
"The cell video proves Soleiman needed kindness first and foremost," he said.
"What we saw in the hallway video depicting the minutes leading up to his death was the height of unkindness."
During Wednesday's testimony, jurors heard that jail staff witnessed Faqiri in an agitated state soon after he was admitted. In his first 24 hours, staff reported seeing him undressed, banging on the door, refusing to eat and hiding in the corner.
WATCH | Video of Soleiman Faqiri's final moments before jail cell death made public:
At that point, a mental health nurse in written notes suggested Faqiri should be put on a Form 1 — a tool to place a person experiencing severe mental health difficulty in a facility for up to 72 hours for psychiatric assessment.
That never happened.
Instead, in the days that followed, the doctor treating Faqiri decided against putting him on an immediate Form 1, saying he should be committed to one following his release, or if his condition declined further. Jurors will hear that doctor explain his reasoning later on during the inquest.
Faqiri was prescribed anti-psychotic medication, though he wasn't taking it regularly. On Dec. 13, he was given a longer lasting injectable medication, though it would have taken roughly a week to take effect and would have required a follow-up dose. He died two days later.
Jurors heard that in the days leading up to the Dec. 11 video being taken, Faqiri's family shared where he had been treated, what medications he was prescribed, and the names of the doctors who treated him.
At no point, however, was his family permitted to see him, nor was he seen by a psychiatrist.
Jurors also heard that correctional facilities often find that people in Faqiri's state who are taken to emergency departments are quickly sent back after receiving an injection of medication. They heard that correctional officers would typically need to stay with the patient in hospital for the duration of their stay, posing possible resource challenges.
Nevertheless, said Chaimowitz said: "The right thing to do would be to get him to a hospital … That's the road you have to go down."
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