Family members of Samwel Uko bowed their heads as tears streamed down their faces while they listened to one of the witnesses say, “I wanted to do more but I couldn’t.”
During the second day of the public inquest for Uko, two educational assistants (EAs) from Abbotsford Senior Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, who worked with Uko years ago, were among the last people to have been in touch with him prior to his death.
Uko is originally from Abbotsford, B.C., and moved to Saskatchewan in 2018 to attend the University of Regina, where he planned to play football.
In May 2020, 20-year-old Uko was battling with his mental health and sought help at the Regina General Hospital, his cousin dropped him off at the hospital, but could not go in due to COVID protocols that were in place at the time.
There Uko was diagnosed with depression, referred to mental health services available to him down the line, After leaving the hospital and still not feeling okay, Uko called police and was dropped off at the hospital a second time.
On his second visit and attempt on accessing immediate mental health supports the same day, the young, Black man was removed from the emergency room by security guards before he could even make it beyond the registration process.
Then, later that day, Uko’s body was recovered at Wascana Lake, where he drowned himself. It took firefighters 70 minutes to recover his body from the water.
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Man charged in surfer deaths told girlfriend he killed ‘3 gringos,’ court hears
- ‘I believe they’re looking for me’: Man arrested after triple stabbing in Mississauga, Ont.
- Drone used to smuggle $250,000 worth of contraband into N.B. prison, police say
During the inquest, jurors will be listening to witnesses who were there the day Uko died or knew him personally, in order to make recommendations to prevent a similar death from occurring. The inquiry is not a process that will lay blame on any one individual or organization for what happened.
Witness Amanda Johansen joined by telephone to give testimony of her last interaction she had with Uko. According to her statement, a conversation in a Facebook group chat between Johansen and others was initiated on May 21, 2020 expressing concerns about Uko.
One of the group chat members questioned if anyone had seen a Facebook screenshot from Uko where he stated, “I need help.” The group members reached out to Uko and he replied, “I’m going to be dead … the police are going to kill me.”
Johansen and the other educational assistant, Nancy Klop, did not know where he was was at the time. The duo started messaging others about his whereabouts. They learned that Uko was in Saskatchewan. The last message they received from Uko was “they’re going to kill me, I love you guys.”
It was a moment where Uko’s family cried as they listened to Johansen’s emotional testimony.
“We did everything that we could,” she said. “We have to live with that.”
Klop, who was the second witness on Day 2, said it was their instant intuition to reach out to Uko, when they saw his Facebook post requesting for help.
“He was very incoherent,” she said. “We were trying to figure out where he was.”
Flop said Uko was one of her favourite students, who was a ray of sunshine and recalled his goal was to make the NFL as he loved playing football.
“(His high school coach) said he could have made the CFL,” she said.
The EAs described Uko as an “easy -going, respectful, and chill person, who had the “biggest smile.”
Johansen said when she knew Uko while he was in high school, he was someone that would not get frustrated, “it was uncharacteristic of him.”
Scott Harrison, a registered nurse at the Regina General Hospital in the emergency unit was the third witness. He was one of the RNs who assessed Uko upon his visit on the day he died. He said Uko was assessed at 9:45 a.m., it took five to 15 minutes to asses him.
He recalls Uko having depressive thoughts and expressed worries of not being able to work and stress over the COVID-19 pandemic. He also remembers Uko stating he had trouble sleeping and had requested sleeping pills.
“I was concerned he wasn’t sleeping,” said Harrison. “He was slightly withdrawn.”
During his testimony, Harrison said the emergency unit follows the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) that prioritizes a patient based on the need for care from one being the sickest patient. Uko was pegged as CTA 2, which means patients need emergency care but can wait a short time for treatment.
Since Uko’s death, an official said the Regina General Hospital has reaffirmed its policies when it comes to providing care to unidentified patients.
According to what has been heard during the public inquest so far, SHA Executive John Ash, alleges Uko was removed from the building by security officers due to a “lack of clarity and communication gaps” in regards to Uko’s registration information and staff being able to accurately identify him on his second visit.
“Samwel (was) caught in the space of registration and triage,” said SHA Executive John Ash, who testified on the first day of the public inquest.
Although, Ash has said it should not matter whether a patient is “identified or unidentified,” that they deserve to be cared for by hospital staff, irregardless.
Family members are slated to speak to media Wednesday morning before the third day of the inquest commences. They’ve expressed that it’s already been an emotionally taxing experience for them.
Despite Uko’s desperate plea for help, Justin Nyee, Uko’s uncle believes his nephew was turned away from the hospital because he was Black.
An organization called Black in Sask will be holding a press conference Wednesday morning. The organization will be speaking on their beliefs of how race could have factored into him being forced out of the hospital.
-With files from the Canadian Press
Comments