Ontario's chief forensic pathologist ascertains cause of death in case of Soleiman Faqiri

New report reverses the previous "unascertained" conclusion made in the original post-mortem report of 2017

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - Ontario's chief forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Pollanen has released a comprehensive post-mortem review in the death of Soleiman Faqiri. Dr. Pollanen finds that the actions of correctional officers at the Central East Correctional Centre caused Soleiman's death.

The cause of death is officially described by Dr. Pollanen as:

"Prone position restraint and musculocutaneous injuries sustained during struggle, exertion and pepper spray exposure in the setting of cardiomegaly and worsening symptoms of schizophrenia"

On December 15, 2016, Soleiman Faqiri was killed while numerous guards beat him inside the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario. Soleiman suffered from schizophrenia and was being held at the Central East temporarily while awaiting a mental health assessment and transfer to a medical facility. He was pronounced dead following a prolonged incident inside a segregation cell in which jail guards repeatedly beat, punched, and kicked Soleiman while he was in restraints. The incident left Soleiman's body with more than 50 blunt force injuries. At the time of his death, Soleiman had been pepper-sprayed, shackled and placed in a spit hood - contrary to the Central East's restraint training guidelines and policies. Despite that Soleiman died during this violent incident, an original post-mortem report in 2017 perplexingly found that cause of death was "unascertained".

In June of 2021, Dr. Pollanen announced that he would review the post-mortem report and re-assess the circumstances of death in light of new evidence. In his review, Dr. Pollanen concludes that the likely cause of death was that the prone position restraint and blunt force injuries Soleiman sustained at the hands of the guards combined to cause fatal surges of catecholamine and/or hypoxia which likely triggered a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

As a result of Dr. Pollanen's new findings, the matter has been returned to the Ontario Provincial Police for possible criminal charges against the correctional officers involved in the use of force inside the cell. This will be the third time that Soleiman's case has been considered by police for potential criminal charges.

For a copy of the Pollanen report, please contact counsel for the Faqiri Family. 

QUOTES:

"We re-live Soleiman's killing every time a new finding is revealed. Before Dr. Pollanen took over this case, no government institution had shown any interest in finding out what really happened to my brother.

To the Ontario Provincial Police – we call on you to do your job. Stop trying to make this case go away. We will bring this case back for a fourth time and a fifth time if you continue to ignore what happened here. The OPP and the Kawartha Lakes Police Service have repeatedly failed my family at every possible opportunity. Prove to us that the system doesn't protect correctional officers when they break the law. Until then, we have no confidence in the OPP to do what is right."

• Yusuf Faqiri, brother of Soleiman Faqiri

"It is now clear beyond any doubt that guards killed Soleiman.  For almost five years, police forces hid behind the previous "unascertained" finding in the post-mortem report as an excuse for not laying criminal charges.  The Pollanen report has removed any ambiguity as to the cause of death.  There is no longer any excuse for allowing these guards to get away with murder." 

• Nader Hasan, lawyer for the Faqiri family

"We now know that Soleiman Faqiri was killed with a lethal combination of excessive force. Defenceless and shackled, he was beaten, brutalized and restrained until his heart stopped beating. There is no justification for what was done to him. There is no training that authorizes correctional officers to use this kind of violence. Pollanen has drawn a direct connection between the brutality Soleiman endured from the guards and the death of his body. There is no mystery remaining in the killing of Soleiman Faqiri."

• Ted Marrocco, lawyer for the Faqiri family

SOURCE Stockwoods LLP

Nader Hasan, Stockwoods LLP, counsel for the Faqiri Family, [phone], [email protected]; Ted Marrocco, Stockwoods LLP, counsel for the Faqiri Family, [phone], [email protected]; Yusuf Faqiri, [phone], [email protected]

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