Man who died in Edmonton remand suffered brain injury after being restrained: report

The mother of a man who died after being held down by staff at an Edmonton jail says she is stunned and angry after finally seeing his autopsy report.

Daniel Robinson, 50, died in hospital after a brief stay at the Edmonton Remand Centre last August. According to his mother, Marilyn Hayward, Robinson was jailed for an unpaid ticket for driving without insurance.

Edmonton city police at the time said Robinson was involved in a “confrontation” with staff on Aug. 24, 2021, and died six days later in hospital after being removed from life support.

Hayward last month obtained the Sept. 7, 2021, autopsy report that deemed the death “accidental.” She said she is shaken by the details, including that Robinson was handcuffed and held in the prone position for an undisclosed amount of time due to “misbehaviour” and a “refusal” to obey orders.

“This was not an accident,” she insists.

The autopsy report, prepared by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, lists the immediate cause of Robinson's death as a brain injury caused by a lack of blood flow and oxygen.

This was caused by “prone restraint cardiac arrest,” the report states. “It appears that (Robinson) was restrained in the prone position with the hands cuffed behind his back and force being used to subdue him.”

Being placed in this position can cause “an increased demand for oxygen and reduced respiratory efforts and cardiac function.”

This results in a condition known as “acidosis,” which causes cardiac arrest.

Robinson also had rib fractures related to CPR, as well as the presence of ketamine and Midazolam, a sedative Hayward believes was administered by jail staff.

In a statement, Edmonton Police Service spokeswoman Cheryl Voordenhout said the service's Institute Investigation Unit probed Robinson's death and concluded it was non-criminal.

“The thorough investigation included all standard investigative steps, including the review of footage, interviews with witnesses and collaboration with the Office of the Medical Examiner,” Voordenhout said.

“In this case, an autopsy completed on Sept. 7, 2021, and a final report received on March 18, 2022, determined the death was non-criminal. As such, the EPS concluded its investigation.”

Alberta Justice and Solicitor General spokeswoman Katherine Thompson said the ministry could not discuss the case due to privacy legislation, but said fatality inquiries and non-public internal reviews are carried out after all deaths in custody.

Overseen by provincial court judges, fatality inquiries are designed to make recommendations for preventing similar deaths, but are prevented from making findings of legal responsibility.

Hayward received the autopsy report in late April, a few months after the final report was sent to police. A remand centre employee told her Robinson refused to wear a mask when exiting the jail's COVID isolation unit, where he had spent around 24 hours before paying his roughly $2,800 fine.

Hayward said as far as she knows, her son had no issues wearing a mask and that he was on his way out of the jail when the “confrontation” with staff happened.

She said she has had to fight to get information from police and the medical examiner's office, who she feels “put all the blame on Danny” for his death.

As for the police, Hayward said she left her interview with investigators unsatisfied.

“When they said they were leaving, my thought was `That's it? You don't want to know anything else?'”

An Ontario resident, Hayward said she is saving to come to Alberta to spread some of her son's ashes and advocate for additional investigation into his death.

She said the process has left her discouraged and unable to mourn — saying she would have more clarity if Robinson died in a car accident.

“I don't know how to explain it,” she said.

“You're going to be grieving anyway, but this is not even grief. You can't grieve.” The fatality inquiry into Robinson's death has not been scheduled.