The Manitoba government denies it is liable for the 2019 death of an inmate who strangled himself in his cell and argues a lawsuit filed by the man’s father should be thrown out of court.
Jeffrey Owen Tait, 31, was found unresponsive on the floor of a Headingley jail solitary confinement cell on Jan. 29, 2019. A piece of fabric was wrapped around his neck. Staff and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Lawyers Jason Harvey and Sadira Garfinkel filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tait’s father, Eugene Marvin Tait, in the Court of King’s Bench in early June.
The lawsuit claims the government and Headingley jail staff breached their duty of care by failing to implement or follow reasonable safety policies and failing to properly assess Tait’s mental state, including whether he was a risk to himself.
Crown attorneys filed a statement of defence on behalf of the government in late August, denying allegations of wrongdoing.
The government has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit with costs in its favour.
The new court filing denies Tait was assessed as a low risk for suicide, as alleged by the family, but rather that his risk was deemed “not evident.”
The defence papers concede the province has a duty of care to everyone at the jail, including a duty to ensure Tait’s safety.
“Manitoba admits that it may be held vicariously liable for the torts and actions of its officers, including staff employed by Manitoba at (Headingley Correctional Centre), but Manitoba denies its officers committed any acts or omissions that would attract liability in respect of Tait’s death,” reads the Aug. 30 defence filing.
“Manitoba denies that it breached any duty owed to the plaintiff, as alleged or at all.”
The province’s filing says the family’s court action is barred under the Fatal Accidents Act, because it was not filed within two years of Tait’s death, as legislatively required.
Alternatively, the province says, the lawsuit is barred under the Limitation of Actions Act. It also says the government has been prejudiced by the plaintiff’s delay in filing suit.
The province claims it acted in the best interests of Tait and others at the institution, based on the information it had, and carried out its responsibilities in good faith.
The family’s suit alleges staff failed to monitor Tait on the day of his death; allowed the video surveillance camera to his cell to be blocked for several hours; failed to watch the surveillance camera; and failed to recognize he was in need of medical help or that he fell unconscious.
Provincial court Judge Stacy Cawley, who oversaw an inquest into the death in 2022, found Tait’s mental health had declined while he was in segregation.
Tait had been let out of a 23-day stint in solitary confinement the day before his death. He was put back in solitary at his own request after staff said he could not smudge himself, by burning sage, because it was too cold outside. It was policy to prevent inmates from going outside when the temperature dipped below -32 C.
Tait had been assessed by a doctor at the jail one day before his death. He was prescribed medication for symptoms of mild psychosis, but Tait refused to take the medication.
Shortly after he was put in a segregation cell on the morning of Jan. 29, Tait placed wet toilet paper over the lens of a security camera in the cell. He was given a meal at 3:29 p.m. and was observed slumped over shortly afterward.
The family’s lawsuit alleges corrections officers did not notice he was unresponsive when he was checked on twice over the following hour, before he was discovered at 4:48 p.m.
Cawley recommended the Manitoba government hire a third party to review the use of segregation in provincial jails in her March 2023 inquest report.
The practice is widely used in Manitoba jails, as per other civil court filings and Headingley jail documents reviewed by the Free Press. The United Nations deems segregation that exceeds 15 days as a form of torture.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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