Dates for inquests into 5 deaths at Niagara Detention Centre, and Hamilton man shot by police

An inquest into five deaths at the Niagara Detention Centre will start later this month, and an inquest into the 2020 death of a man shot by Hamilton police will begin in November.

Dr. Karen Schiff, the regional supervising coroner for the Hamilton-Niagara region, announced those dates in news releases Tuesday. 

The inquest into deaths at the Niagara Detention Centre was announced in August, and originally set to start in September. It will now begin on Oct. 21, is expected to last 15 days, and hear from 17 witnesses. 

Originally, the inquest was set to examine six deaths, those of: Timothy Anderson, Murray Balogh, Jordan Case, David Cowe, Michael Croft, and Jahrell Lungs. Each person died either while in custody at the Niagara Detention Centre or after they were transferred to hospital, according to the news release. It added the deaths were all investigated by coroners and determined to be "non-natural."

On Tuesday, Schiff announced there will now be a separate inquest into Case's death. No date has yet been set. 

In an email, Stephanie Rea, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which oversees the coroner's office, told CBC Hamilton this separation is the result of "scheduling conflicts."

In August, Rea told CBC Hamilton the Office of the Chief Coroner can choose to examine deaths together "when it is believed that the deaths arose from the same event or a common cause."

Inquests are mandatory when a death occurs while a person is in custody or being detained, except in circumstances where a death investigation determines the death occurred from natural causes, according to a government website. Inquests are also mandatory when the use of force of a police officer is the cause of death.

At the inquests, jurors will seek to determine how the individuals died and might make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths.

Inquest into Jason Peterson's death to start in November

Jason Peterson's death will be examined starting Nov. 4, according to another news release from Schiff. It's expected to last five days and hear from about 15 witnesses.

Peterson, 42, was armed and in a vehicle when Hamilton police shot him four years ago. He died in hospital a day later. The inquest was announced in June.

Peterson's daughter, Mackenzie, spoke at a news conference weeks after the shooting, saying: "Aren't police trained to not kill? Aren't they trained to serve and protect? If that is true, why was he shot in the back of the head? Why was pulling their guns their first option when they had many other ways to detain him?"

Angela Case, the mother of 22-year-old Jordan Case, previously told CBC Hamilton her son died of an overdose at Niagara Detention Centre. 

At the time, she said the issues of jail conditions and the accessibility of drugs in jail were not getting enough attention. "Everything's been shoved under the carpet in Niagara," she said.

Inquests look at deaths going back six years

Both the inquest into the detention centre deaths, and Peterson's are open to the public and can be watched online. They examine deaths going back six years.

"The length of time from a death to inquest varies from case to case," Rea told CBC Hamilton in an email last month. "Inquests generally only take place once all other investigations (i.e., police, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Special Investigations Unit, etc.) and any prosecutions (criminal charges and/or provincial offences) have been conducted and appeal periods have expired."

"It does take time to prepare for an inquest," Rea added, saying an inquest team must be established, and then collect documents and evidence, as well as "seek input from the family and stakeholders to strategize issues and potential recommendations and create the scope of the inquest."

The ministry does not keep statistics on the length of time between deaths and inquests, Rea said.