Police challenge cause of death
Why three weeks into inquest, family asks
The police lawyer at the inquest into Junior Manon’s death wants jurors to hear from a U.S. medical examiner who will challenge the findings of Ontario’s chief forensic pathologist.
Julian Falconer, the Manon family’s lawyer, said he is “shocked” a new cause of death would be considered three weeks into the inquest.
The examiner, Dr. Werner Spitz, worked on the commission investigating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy and has testified as an expert witness at the civil trial against O.J. Simpson.
Manon was stopped while driving on Steeles Ave. W. by Const. Michael Adams and Sgt. Stuart Blower in May 2010. He fled when police tried to arrest him for breaching probation. Adams and Blower eventually caught up with Manon and tackled him to the ground, where he died after a struggle. An SIU investigation cleared both officers of criminal wrongdoing.
Chief forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Pollanen ruled that Manon died of “positional asphyxia following struggle and exertion.”
His report said “pressure was placed on (Manon’s) chest in a manner that could have caused it to compress and interfere with his breathing.”
Numerous eyewitnesses and Adams have already testified and been cross-examined based on Pollanen’s conclusions.
Adams has testified repeatedly that he didn’t restrain Manon in a position that could have killed him.
On Wednesday, he said there was nothing he could have done differently.
“Everything I did was in response to Mr. Manon,” said Adams, who stated that the18-year-old struggled violently after they fell to the wet ground and that the punches he inflicted were in response to Manon’s violence.
His uniform, which was entered into evidence, showed patches of dirt on one pant leg below the knee. His shirt was slightly stained and missing a button that once held an epaulette at the shoulder.
Adams has also said that Manon was never face down on the ground, but always on his left side during the struggle. He described the teenager as having such strength that it was as if he and Blower weren’t even there. Adams says he restrained Manon by holding onto one of his arms. Portions of SIU statements from police who arrived on scene, read by Falconer at the inquest Wednesday, describe Manon lying on his stomach with his head to one side. One officer said he walked up “using caution” because he wasn’t sure if Manon was actually unconscious or faking it. There were reports of a weak pulse and one officer asked if they should be applying CPR. When he finished his testimony, Adams was asked numerous questions by jurors who wanted to know about his training in use-of-force options such as his baton and pepper spray, if Adams was trained in emergency first aid, when he had last worked, his verbal communication strategies and if he had ever had anger management training. When asked by jurors how he thought Manon died, Adams said, “I just don’t know how he went from struggling so violently with me to deceased. I just don’t know.”