Violent inmate freed after 'inhumane' treatment
Tossed naked into isolation cell for seven days after being pepper sprayed by corrections officers
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, March 14, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A territorial court judge slammed corrections officers at a sentencing hearing last Friday, decrying what she called cruel and unusual treatment of a troubled inmate.
Brooklyn Palmantier, 20, was to receive anywhere from six to 11 months in jail for a number of offences he committed while at the North Slave Correctional Centre between August and October last year. Instead, Judge Bernadette Schmaltz set the man free, stating he was "subjected to inhumane conditions" while incarcerated at the facility.
Palmantier was originally sent to jail June 6 for assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest, making death threats and breaching a court undertaking.
In a sentencing hearing lasting three weeks, the courts heard how Palmantier regularly abused and threatened corrections officers.
Palmantier spent a total of 132 days in solitary confinement at the correctional centre between June 6, 2013 and Feb. 26, 2014, with his longest stint in isolation lasting 33 days. Three corrections officers testified at the hearing, noting they often took Palmantier out of solitary and tried to reintegrate him back into the inmate population.
Those efforts proved futile, as Palmantier was locked away time and time again for barricading himself in his cell and challenging officers to fight.
Brent Horn, a corrections officer at the correctional centre for 21 years, testified Palmantier was "unpredictable and violent."
Greg Spronken, deputy warden of security at the jail, testified how he once watched Palmantier tear a "tear-proof" mattress and use it to cover the window to his cell and a camera.
While searching his cell Oct. 16, officers found a makeshift razor blade weapon. When Palmantier was being searched afterwards, he resisted and was pepper sprayed. The court heard how Palmantier was left in his cell for 45 minutes afterwards without the pepper spray being rinsed off.
His clothes were then cut off and Palmantier was placed in isolation, naked and without bedding for the next seven days.
Schmaltz said she demanded an extended sentencing hearing after "serious allegations" came to light about Palmantier's treatment at the facility. Crown prosecutor Cecilia Bastedo obliged, providing three corrections officers who worked in the four-cell isolation unit at the jail to testify.
But the officers were unable to specify the exact nature of Palmantier's treatment, often testifying they simply did not remember if and when certain privileges were offered to him.
At issue was whether Palmantier was provided adequate clothing, bedding, showers and other amenities.
Michael Martin, Palmantier's defence attorney, said his client's treatment amounted to state misconduct. He provided the courts with a witness who had been in solitary confinement the same time as Palmantier.
Corey Cardinal, a 26-year-old offender from Inuvik, testified he and Palmantier were stripped naked and offered a heavy-duty, vinyl blanket that was "just enough to cover" themselves.
He said they were denied utensils and as a result were only given fried food to eat with their hands. Cardinal added he was told by guards he'd have to "earn back" his privileges.
After four days he said he was offered a shower, but only while wearing cuffs and shackles. He insisted Palmantier - whose cell was next to his - was never offered a shower.
This differed from evidence offered by corrections officer Ed Patten, who testified showers were offered daily. Horn added offering showers, meals and clothing was part of the daily routine for inmates in the isolation cells.
Both Cardinal and Palmantier were transferred to a maximum security penitentiary in Edmonton following their seven-day stints in isolation, something Spronken said is rare, but necessary for more aggressive inmates who can't be controlled at the jail.
When questioned by Bastedo about his reliability as a witness, Cardinal admitted he has a long criminal record but, despite that, is honest.
"I took responsibility for my actions," he testified Thursday.
"I've been to the (isolation cells) more than once before ... I've never been treated like that."
In her decision made Friday, Schmaltz said she wasn't satisfied with the testimony of the jail guards.
Palmantier, shackled and closely watched by an RCMP officer in the courtroom, watched intently as Schmaltz gave her decision.
The courtroom, normally empty on a Friday afternoon, was full of lawyers anticipating the sentence.
Schmaltz began by saying she has "no tolerance" for Palmantier's behaviour, adding things could have turned out far worse for him and the officers.
But she stopped short of finding the officers' attempts to contain Palmantier as reasonable.
"I understand the need to diffuse the situation," Schmaltz said.
"But I do not see how depriving someone of a mattress for seven days is an appropriate response."
Schmaltz sentenced Palmantier to three months in jail for three counts of resisting a peace officer, one count of having a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of uttering death threats.
Since Palmantier already spent 71 days in custody waiting for his sentencing, combined with his treatment at the facility, Schmaltz wrote off his three-month sentence and set him free last Friday. He will be on probation for one year.
