Halifax police special constables Daniel Fraser and Cheryl Garder now await the decision from the jury to find out whether they themselves will spend any time behind bars or not.
The two booking officers were charged with criminal negligence causing death in the case of the Halifax jail cell death of Corey Rogers.
The 12 member jury made up of eight men and four women heard the final arguments from the defense lawyers and Crown prosecutors on Thursday at Nova Scotia Supreme Court, while on Friday morning judge Kevin Coady delivered his address of the law and charges to the jury.
The address spanned nearly two-hours, as judge Coady thoroughly went over the details of the evidence delivered at trial which focused on the death of Rogers.
The 41-year-old, who was arrested for public intoxication and wound up in a Halifax police holding cell, where he later died from asphyxiation from suffocating on his own vomit that was trapped in the spit hood he was wearing.
Halifax special constables Fraser and Cheryl were charged with criminal negligence causing death, following a Serious Incident Response Team investigation.
The Crown argued the two booking officers failed to follow Halifax police prisoner care policies and failed to uphold their legal duty to care for Rogers, who was a prisoner under their watch.
Judge Coady said there were five essential elements for the jury to consider before they could convict special constables Gardner and Fraser of the charges, which included proof they committed the offense, while secondly, the Crown must prove the offense took place during the time and place set out in the charges.
Judge Coady was explicit in saying then that the Crown must have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each of the defendants actions or omissions caused the death of Rogers, while the Crown must prove each of the defendants actions or omissions was a marked and substantial departure from the standard of care a reasonable person would deliver under these circumstances.
The final element, he said, requires the Crown to prove each of the defendant’s actions proved a wanton or reckless disregard for the life of Rogers.
As judge Coady recapped all of the witnesses’ testimonies, he carefully and repeatedly went through the timeline of events, describing the arrest of Rogers outside the IWK Hospital on June 25, 2016, where he was witnessed by police officers chugging a half-pint of fireball whiskey.
Officers testified Rogers had a tough time finding his balance and was slurring his words and it was determined he would be taken into custody for public intoxication.
Security video at the police headquarters shown at the trial showed Rogers being carried into the Halifax police booking room with a spit hood over his face after arresting officers said he was uncooperative and became erratic and smashing his head and spitting in the back of a police cruiser.
Evidence shows a medical form was filled out that stated Rogers was too intoxicated to communicate or give answers to questions but was still admitted to a jail cell without being medically examined first by a paramedic.
The Crown has argued that, according to Halifax police prisoner care policies, a 4-R check should have been completed, which includes a rousability test, that requires booking officers to determine if the prisoner is responsive, and if not, they should not be admitted.
Medical examiner Dr. Marnie Wood testified during the first week of the trial that Rogers died from asphyxiation because of the spit hood he was wearing caused him to suffocate in his own vomit.
Both Gardner and Fraser testified they had not received training on the use of spit hoods and at the same time had never, in their careers, removed a spit hood from a prisoner.
Both defendants argued it was an unreal expectation that any officer could complete cell checks as the policy was laid out, as no officer would ever enter a prisoner’s cell without back up, for safety reasons.
Both testified that they brought these complaints to their superiors but nothing was ever done to address the issue and Fraser said he was simply told to keep doing what he was doing.
Judge Coady said the two defendants, in this case, are not before the courts as a team but are to be judged independently.
Criminal negligence causing death can come with a maximum sentence of life in prison with a minimum sentence of four years behind bars.
Just before noon on Friday, the court recessed and the jury was moved to their meeting room to begin its deliberations.
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