Manitoba corrections officer acquitted in 2021 death of Headingley inmate William Ahmo
Ahmo's death a 'terrible tragedy,' judge says, but video of final moments doesn't 'tell the whole story'
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
Acorrections officer charged in the 2021 death of an inmate who was shown on video repeatingthe words "I can't breathe"while officers swarmed and restrained him in a Manitoba jail has been acquitted in the man's death.
Robert Jeffrey Morden pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life, following a February 2021 altercation that began as a prolonged standoff between inmate William Walter Ahmo and corrections officers in a common room of theHeadingley Correctional Centre, west of Winnipeg.
The incident ended with Ahmo, 45, being sent to hospital in medical distress. He was taken off life support a week later and died. Manitoba's chief medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
A forensic pathologist who testified during the trial said Ahmo died from a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood to the brain which was likely triggered by how Ahmo was restrained and that the inmate's heart stopped during the confrontation with officers.
Manitoba provincial court Judge Tony Cellitti delivered his 44-page decision in a Winnipeg courtroom on Friday.
The ruling came almost a year after lawyers made their closing arguments in the September 2023 judge-alone trial, which was shownfootage of Ahmo's final moments of consciousness including a nearly 21-minutevideo that showed the inmate saying"I can't breathe" more than 20 times while under restraint in the prone position.
WARNING: The video and descriptions below contain graphic content.
An excerpt from 21-minute-long video showing the Feb. 7, 2021, incident:
Judge Cellitti said in his decisionAhmo's death "represents a terrible tragedy" that"has no doubt had and will continue to have an immeasurable and lasting impact" on his loved ones, but that the video of Ahmosaying he couldn't breathe does"not tell the whole story."
"In my view, the fact that Mr. Ahmo said that he could not breathe on numerous occasionsand that seemingly there was no medical assistance offered to himstanding alone is not determinative of this case," Cellitti said.
"A much more detailed review of the evidence is required to fully assess the matter."
After Cellitti delivered his decision, Morden broke into tears in his seat a few feet behind his lawyers, his wife putting her head on his shoulder.
Medical staff didn't flag any issues
The judge saidhis review included considering the fact that Ahmo had been pepper-sprayed during the course of the altercation, something court heard can often make people feel like they can't breathe.
He said there "was every reason to believe" Ahmo's comments about not being able to breathe were because of that spray,"particularly given that Mr. Ahmo continued to fight, resist and struggle, and given that Mr. Ahmo can be seen breathing heavily at times on the video by virtue of his chest contracting in and out something that would have been visible to those that were present ... including the accused."
The judge also said there were multiple people with medical training there at various points during the incident two nurses and two members of the emergency response unit Morden was on who saw Ahmo and didn't alert Morden to any medical issues that needed urgent attention.
"The accused had medically trained personnel at his disposal, and was entitled to rely on their medical assessments and opinions," Cellitti said.
"A proper and more fulsome assessment of Mr. Ahmo by medical personnel might very well have disclosed concerns, but in my view a closer assessment was not possible given that Mr. Ahmo continued to struggle and resist."
'Gross miscarriage of justice'
Cathy Merrick, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said she was disappointed by the judge's decision, which she called "a gross miscarriage of justice" that perpetuates systematic racism and "contravenes the basic principles of our basic human rights: safety, justice and equity for First Nations people under the law."
"The chief medical examiner ruled it a homicide. Yet today's decision tells the world that the rights and dignity of First Nations peopleand that a ruling by a chief medical examinercan be disregarded without consequence. So that bothers me," Merrick told reporters outside court.
"It is [an] outright failure of the justice system to protect First Nations people that sends a clear message that First Nations lives are less valued under the law.
"Things have to change in this province when it comes to justice."
Merrick said Ahmo leaves behind family, including his mother and son, and the fact that they had to wait so long after the trial to learn the judge's decision made it even harder for them when they finally did hear the outcome.
Not long after speaking with reporters about the judge's decision, Merrick died suddenly after collapsing outside the law courts building.
Video of altercation
The judge also said he only heard from a small number of witnesses during the trial, which did not include many of the people involved in the events that preceded Ahmo's death.
However, Cellitti said a full assessment of each individual's involvement in the incident and how that may have contributed to the outcome "is beyond the scope of this decision."
Video evidence shown during the trial provided a glimpse into what happened in the timeleading up to Ahmo's death, and included footage thatbegins after Ahmo created a disturbance in the jail, with other inmatesthen locked in their cells.
In another video shown in court, Ahmo an Anishinaabe man from Sagkeeng First Nation in southeastern Manitoba is heard telling a crisis negotiator he was upset about hearing a racist joke earlier that day.
An agitated Ahmo can be seenpacing in a common area in video that was shown in court. Atone point, he rips a water tank off the wall.
Corrections officers shot chemical projectiles at Ahmo as he stood on the second floor of a correctional centre unit, holding a broom handle. Ahmo swung the broom at about a dozen officers, who then took him down to the floor.
The video showed the officers moving Ahmo to a second location, referred to as the "horseshoe," while he was still face down on the floor.
During the trial, Crown attorney Jason A. Nicol told court at that point the threat Ahmo posed was "substantially mitigated." Nicol said Ahmo could be heard saying that he was choking and that he was being killed, and repeatedly begging officers for help.
Conflicting restraint chair policies
Once Ahmo lost consciousness, he was dragged by officers and placed in a restraint chair, which Nicol said does not follow use of force policy and was not justified. The video showed an officer pulling Ahmo's limp head back.
Nicol argued it's clear that urgent medical intervention was needed, and Morden, the captain of Headingley's emergency response unit, failed to provide it.
Defence lawyer Richard Wolson disagreed during the trial, saying Ahmo had been aggressive throughout the confrontation and at one point told officers he didn't intend to go peacefully. Wolson said the restraint chair was only requested when Ahmo was fighting, resisting and kicking.
He added the team put him in the chair to move him to another location where they were going to "decontaminate" him from having been pepper-sprayed, and said Morden was in contact with the command centre.
If any of the senior officials believed the use of the chair shouldn't have occurred, "You can bet they would have said something," said Wolson.
In his decision, Judge Cellitti said there was "a clear conflict" between twocorrectional policies in place at the time of Ahmo's death: a Manitoba Corrections use of force policy from 2019, and the Headingley Correctional Centre's emergency restraint chair policy from 2017.
"Specifically, the 2017 policy allows the [chair]to be used to maintain control while moving a high-risk inmate within a facility, while the 2019 policy allows the [chair]to be used only as a temporary measure to stop self-harming behaviour by physically incapacitating an inmate," Cellitti said.
The judge said despite the 2019 provincial policy requiring institutions "to draft or update their standing orders" to align withthe new rules, Headingley did not update its policy meaning the 2017 guidelines were stillbeing followed at the time of Ahmo's death.
"The court has not been provided with any explanation as to why this did not occur or who was responsible for this," the judge said.
'I had hoped for justice': mother
Ahmo's mother, Darlene, expressed her "deep disappointment and sorrow" following the verdict.
"My heart is broken. I had hoped for justice for my son but instead we are left with more questions and no accountability for his death. William's life mattered, and to see no one held responsible is devastating," she said in a writtenstatement, emailed to mediaby the law firm representing the family.
She said she is committed to continuing to fight for reforms in the correctional system to prevent similar tragedies.
Manitoba's Fatality Inquiries Act requires an inquest if it's believed a persondied as a result of use of force by police.
Darlene Ahmo's statement said she will participate fully in the inquest, which thefamily hopes will be called soon.
"This isn't just about my son anymore it's about every inmate who is mistreated and forgotten. No one should lose their life because of neglect or a lack of basic humanity."
Ahmo's friend Louise Menowsaid she toowants to see justice for the man she said was "like a brother" to her.
"Our justice system needs to do better when it comes to situations like this," Menow told reporters outside court. "He did not deserve to go this way."
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