| Feb. 24, 2004. 06:47 AM |
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Inquest begins into 1999 death Scarborough man died after caught stealing baby food Held face down by 2 store employees and security guard PETER SMALL STAFF REPORTER Crowds who gathered at Agincourt Mall as a shoplifter was held face down by two Loblaws employees and a security guard yelled that he wasn't breathing, an inquest jury into the man's death has heard.But Loblaws employee Donald Moore, who had his hands on Patrick Shand Jr.'s shoulder blades, said he could feel his back rise and fall, coroner's counsel Robert Ash said yesterday, in summarizing expected evidence at the inquest into the 31-year-old Scarborough man's death more than four years ago."This led him to believe that Shand was still breathing and that he had simply calmed down because he now `knew he was caught,'" Ash said.At that point, Shand's girlfriend, Jennifer Armstrong, intervened. "She was also yelling that Shand was not breathing and pointed out that there was blood coming from his mouth," Ash said.Armstrong and a bystander turned him over, and Moore and the bystander started administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. But it would prove to be too late.On the morning of Sept. 14, 1999, Shand was caught sneaking two boxes of baby formula cans from the Loblaws at the mall, at Sheppard Ave. E. and Kennedy Rd.Moore and another Loblaws employee, Victor Gentile, along with mall security guard Steven Rafuse, held Shand face down and handcuffed him with the brief assistance of Brinks guard Larry Avramidis, Ash said.The coroner's inquest, which began yesterday, is throwing a spotlight on the use of force by private security guards and employees in making citizens' arrests. Besides the Shand family and Loblaws Supermarkets Ltd., parties with standing are Wackenhut of Canada Ltd. security services, Brink's Canada and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, which regulates private security guards.Julian Falconer, the family's lawyer, told reporters that Ontario has no rules governing the use of force by private security guards or employees acting in a security role. "Two cartons of baby formula, under anyone's rationale, cannot equal death," he said."It's a good day for the justice system," said Shand's mother, Lethel Shand, 60, who attended the inquest with her husband, Patrick Sr., 61, and their other son, Colin, 32."All we ever wanted was the truth on how Patrick died," she told reporters. She said she hoped that laws governing security guard training would be improved. "Policing should be left to the police."According to expected evidence, Shand's girlfriend warned the two Loblaws employees as they struggled with Shand that he had asthma and heart problems, Ash said.But Detective Sergeant Rob DiDanieli testified he could find no indication of such problems in Shand's medical records and that his mother could not recall any such problems.The officer added that Shand had a history of abusing crack cocaine.As Shand struggled to get free, Ash told the jury, Rafuse held him down by the midsection. Gentile held his legs and had removed his shoes to keep from being kicked, while Moore had the man in a bear hug.At one point in the struggle, Shand complained that he couldn't breathe."Moore told him to calm down and he would loosen his hold," Ash said. "Shand did calm down and Moore released his hold. He maintained control of Shand by keeping his hands between his shoulder blades."Dr. Jim Cairns, Ontario's deputy chief coroner, testified that in cases of excited delirium — a life-threatening hyperactive condition that strikes cocaine or alcohol abusers, or schizophrenics off their medication — restraining them on their stomachs can lead to asphyxia."By putting them on their stomach and hog-tying them, you will increase the likelihood that that person will die," he said, adding often these people appear to have suddenly grown quiet just before they expire of exhaustion.The inquest continues today. |