Fired jail guards countersue province
Claim says ministry refusing to protect defendants in suit filed by family of deceased inmate
Two of the three guards who were fired in the wake of the 2016 death of inmate Soleiman Faqiri in a segregation cell at a Lindsay, Ont., superjail are countersuing the province, saying it’s “deliberately and maliciously” refusing to defend them in a lawsuit filed by the mentally ill man’s family.
The third unionized guard who was fired has since been reinstated, according to the statement of defence and cross claim filed this fall, a copy of which was provided to the Star.
“The ministry’s refusal to protect and defend its managers is at all times intended to deflect blame from themselves and scapegoat the defendants,” the counter claim says.
They also contend that, if there was any negligence, which they deny, it was the fault of the province for not providing adequate training and staff.
The guards’ lawyer, Andrew Camman, declined to comment by deadline.
The family filed a $14.3-million lawsuit last January against the province for “excessive force.”
The lawsuit names the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the superintendent of the Central East Correctional Centre and several individual correctional staff members.
Its claims include that Faqiri’s charter rights were breached, that there was battery amounting to “intentional” physical harm, negligence, abuse of public office, false imprisonment, a breach of duty of care and the inflicting of psychiatric damage.
Thirty-year-old Faqiri was arrested in December 2016 for charges of assault,