Two special constables with the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) have been charged with criminal negligence causing death after a 41-year-old man died in the booking cells at police headquarters last year.
Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) laid the charges against S/Const. Daniel Fraser and S/Const. Cheryl Gardner on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Man dies in Halifax police custody
Both were working as booking officers on June 15, 2016, when Corey Rogers was arrested and placed in cells at the facility on Gottingen Street.
According to SiRT, Halifax Regional Police were called to the IWK children’s hospital just after 10:30 p.m. in response to a 911 call from hospital security about an “unwanted male.”
Officers found Rogers outside the hospital entrance and arrested him on a charge of being intoxicated in public.
READ MORE: We now know who died in Halifax’s police cells last year but we still don’t know why
Rogers was taken to police headquarters and placed in cells at around 11 p.m. At around 1:45 a.m. on June 16, he was found unresponsive and an ambulance was called. He was pronounced dead at 1:53 a.m.
SiRT, which investigates serious incidents involving police in the province, took over the investigation immediately and completed its report on Oct. 30, 2017.
The team interviewed six civilian witnesses, reviewed police notes, watched surveillance videos, and looked at cell block photos. They also acquired 911 and police radio transmissions.
“The arrest and placing of Cory Rogers in cells creates a ‘duty’ on the booking officers of HRP to evaluate his medical condition prior to being placed in police cells and to be adequately observed while in cells for the purpose of maintaining his personal safety and well-being,” SiRT’s report reads.
“Cory (sic) Rogers, like any person placed in police cells following an arrest, inherits this ‘duty’ regardless of his state of sobriety.”
Mother says Rogers treated “less than humane”
Lawyers for S/Const. Daniel Fraser and S/Const. Cheryl Gardner appeared at Halifax Provincial Court on Monday afternoon on their behalf.
“Other then the charge, the defence has not received any disclosure. So, therefore we’ve put the matter over,” said Gardner’s lawyer, Joel Pink.
A Crown attorney from Manitoba will be handling the case for the Crown due to a potential conflict of interest.
The case against the two special constables was adjourned until Jan. 22, 2018, at which time it’s expected they will enter a plea.
Rogers’ mother, Jeannette Rogers, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. She told them her son was treated “less than humane” the night he died and that HRP never notified her of her son’s death. Instead, she was informed by SiRT.
Jeannette Rogers says her son was outside the IWK that night in 2016 visiting his newborn child and that although her son was battling alcoholism, he still deserved to have been treated “as a person.”
“Corey was an alcoholic. There’s no question about that, but the system saw him as a drunk and a nuisance. To those of us who knew and loved him, he was far more than that,” she said.
“He was a father, a son, a brother, a partner, he was a person.”
She is pursuing civil action against the municipality and is calling for an inquiry following the conclusion of the court case.
“I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. His partner is now raising a 17-month old child on her own and there was no need of it. It was totally uncalled for ,” she said.
Halifax Regional Police responds
In response, the Halifax Regional Police issued a statement on the charges.
“We want to again extend our condolences to Mr. Rogers’ family. We also believe it’s important to stress our commitment to the care of people in our custody,” the statement reads.
“Proper care of those in custody is a priority for us, and as such, we review and enhance our practices and are confident in our employees’ ability to appropriately manage the care of people in custody.”
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The police department also opened a Police Act investigation at the time of Rogers’ death, which was suspended pending the conclusion of the SiRT investigation. Police say the case remains open but suspended until the court process is complete.
With files from Natasha Pace
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