Officers didn't know about Hyde's schizophrenia

Two Nova Scotia corrections officers did not know that Howard Hyde had schizophrenia or that he had been stunned by police with a Taser a day earlier, an inquiry into the man's death heard Monday.

Ian Prall and Peter Lloyd came in contact with Hyde on Nov. 22, 2007, at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, where the 45-year-old was being held on an assault charge.

Hyde died at the facility about 30 hours after he was shocked up to five times by a Taser as he tried to escape a police station in downtown Halifax.

The inquiry, which started in July, is trying to determine why Hyde never received the psychiatric help he needed and what can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future.

In a grainy video played at the inquiry Monday, Lloyd can be seen walking with Hyde and gesturing for him to head alone down a long corridor where other officials, who are not visible, are waiting to take him to a court appearance.

Lloyd testified that Hyde, who had paranoid schizophrenia refused to walk down the hall because he believed something "bad" was going to happen. When Lloyd repeated his request, he said Hyde, who was not handcuffed, began to grow "mildly agitated."

Under questioning by lead counsel Dan MacRury, Lloyd testified he was unaware that Hyde had schizophrenia or that he had been off his medication.

But having that knowledge would not have changed the way he communicated with Hyde, Lloyd said.

Tried to be friendly

"I don't know what else I could have done," said Lloyd, who no longer works as a corrections officer.

"I offered to go down [the hall] with him, I was friendly, I lowered my voice …I called him 'friend,' you know? At no time did it become, 'I'm ordering you to go down."'

He told lawyer Kevin MacDonald, who represents Hyde's family, that he considered the possibility Hyde was intoxicated or had mental health problems.

MacDonald questioned why he didn't refer Hyde to health services initially.

"The court date, the sheriffs waiting … superseded your concerns in relation to these issues that Mr. Hyde was exhibiting," MacDonald said, "Is that right?"

"Yes," replied Lloyd.

He testified that had he known police used a Taser on Hyde the day before, he would have had him restrained with handcuffs earlier.

In the video, a second corrections officer can be seen approaching Lloyd as he tries to persuade Hyde to walk down the hallway. A struggle quickly breaks out before Hyde is handcuffed.

Six other officers, including Prall, rush toward the group to help.

"At that time, we were in a use-of-force situation," he said. "Our concern at that time was his safety and the officers' safety."

Hyde is then escorted down a corridor to a nearby small cell, where another struggle ensues. Prall testified that, to his knowledge, no officers were placing weight on Hyde when they were in the room.

Prall said Hyde agreed to another officer's request to stop resisting. These were the last words he heard Hyde say, Prall testified.

He said officers then started to remove Hyde's handcuffs. By that point, health-care workers had been called, but Prall could not recall why. The inquiry previously heard that blood was seen coming from Hyde's mouth as he lay prone on the floor.

Pacing and nerves 'wouldn't be uncommon'

Hyde was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death has been listed as excited delirium stemming from paranoid schizophrenia.

Prall testified Monday that when he started his shift, he learned from other officers that Hyde had been pacing in his cell all night. Prall said he didn't think much of it.

"If somebody comes in brand new, it wouldn't be uncommon for them to be pacing and be nervous,"

Prall said he was not told anything else about Hyde's mental status at the time. Nor was he was aware of a shift-change notification that read: "Howard Hyde seems out of his marbles. He keeps talking and shouting at himself and pacing in his cell. Need to be checked on."

The additional information wouldn't have changed much, he said, since health officials were nearby and would have stepped in if required.

But under questioning by MacDonald, Prall said he might have contacted a nurse if he'd been told about the information in the notification and if corrections officers had suggested Hyde might need health care.

The inquiry resumes Tuesday.