The Misericordia Hospital Incident

I looked through the file to see what it was all about. The investigator Cst. Joel Whittaker was the author of the report and stated that he had responded to the Misericordia Hospital as a result of an assault complaint. On arriving at the garage he saw Reg #376 Cst. Hall involved in a fight with Forrest, and I arrested him at 3.20a.m. which was the same time as Cst. Pudwill arrested Bodnar. He spoke with Duboski the security guard, who had told him the two had come to the hospital to the emergency unit to use the phone to call a taxi. Both were obnoxious and intoxicated. Bodnar used the phone down the hallway, and Forrest waited by the front desk. While there he was yelling obscenities at the nurse, and sticking his tongue out at her. Duboski then attempted to escort Forrest out of the hospital, when Bodnar raced over to help Forrest. Bodnar had then grabbed him, and managed to get Forrest free. They both started yelling obscenities at him, but he managed to get both of them into the garage area. While he was doing this Forrest struck him in the face. Cst. Hall was in the hospital off duty but in full uniform, and the other security guard Sirohi responded to the garage area. Cst. Hall attempted to solve the situation verbally, but was unsuccessful. Bodnar then pushed Duboski and Forrest struck Cst. Hall three times in the head. Cst. Hall wrestled him to the floor, and arrested, and chartered him at 3.20a.m. While he was being arrested Bodnar was fighting with Sirohi. Bodnar struck him on the left side of the face. Cst. Pudwill then arrived on the scene, subdued him and arrested and chartered him at the same time. Cst. Pilon, Macdonald, Sgt. Anderson and he (Whittaker) all then responded to the scene. Forrest had received a concussion while fighting with me. (The report was handwritten, and before concussion he had written the word "slight" which had been scratched out). He had been treated by Dr. Sshragge at the hospital and released. While in the hospital he had to be restrained by Cst. Macdonald and Sgt. Anderson, when Dr. Schragge did the x-raying. Forrest was diagnosed as having a basal skull fracture. Upon his release he was taken to Jasper Place District Station, by Cst. Pilon and Macdonald, and while walking to the station (I assume on the parking lot) he kicked Cst. Pilon in the right leg. He was released upon being issued an appearance notice for two counts of assault on police and one for ordinary assault. Bodnar was released on an appearance notice for two counts of assault. Prior to Forrest getting involved in the fight he initially wanted treatment on some cuts to his face he had received earlier on in the night.

Then came my own statement. I had forgotten as I typed it, that he had raised his head and I wondered why he did that, but my question was soon answered, when he spat in my face, and thereupon he broke his wrist free from my grip and he punched me three times to the face.

Then came Dr. David Schragge’s statement, that he witnessed a hospital security guard (which he did not name), escorting two Caucasian males, from the hospital, and before they reached the exit doors to the garage, an angry exchange of words occurred, accompanied by shoving involving all three. They went into the garage where he heard additional signs of violence, banging against locker doors and shouting obscenities. He then ran to the lobby where he knew an additional security guard and a city policeman were. He notified us and we ran to the garage. Later on one young man came running to the nursing area, where he had been earlier shouting, then became calm when he spoke to him. He was subsequently handcuffed and led away by a Misericordia Hospital security officer.

Then there was Nancy Barkwill’s statement that Forrest walked into the emergency dept. (then followed three lines which could not be read as the Photostat copying machine did not make the copy clear. Maybe she wrote with a blue instead of a black pen. We police personnel had been told to use the latter and not the former colour on our reports for this very reason). Another guard and I, who were in the hospital, at the time, were called to assist. FORREST was fighting with a security guard. Some more words were illegible, and then she stated that other city police arrived to help. Forrest was lying on the concrete floor with Officer Hall kneeling on his back. She then observed Officer Hall jumping on him several times, although he did not appear to be struggling. The patient’s head banged against the concrete and he appeared to go quite limp. Handcuffs which were placed on him were removed, and the patient was placed on a stretcher to be brought to the emergency Dept, for examination by Dr. Sshragge, and his nose was bloody. When Forrest first arrived at the Dept. with his friend, there was a strong smell of alcohol about him. He also had abrasions on his face.

Duboski’s statement was that he was on duty at 3a.m. on 6^th. December 1986, in the emergency Dept. area when two males, in their early 20’s came through the entrance. The taller of the two stated they wanted to call a taxi. Both smelled of alcohol and were loud. He directed the taller one, subject 1 to the phone and directed subject 2 to sit down to wait for the cab. Instead subject 2 went to the counter, and God only knows why, repeatedly stuck his tongue out at the nurses. He grabbed him by the shoulder of his coat, and was leading him out through the door into the garage, when subject 1 raced over to help him, trying to free him. Both were yelling obscenities at him. He then told both that they were to leave the hospital. Subject 1 then grabbed him and took a swing at him but missed. Subject 2 then hit him in the face. He managed to restrain him, but subject 2 grabbed him again. Both were swinging at him, and he was wrestling with subject 2 and was trying to restrain him, with subject one interfering. Cst. Hall was in the front lobby of the hospital visiting with security guard Sirohi. We were called by emergency staff to help him. Cst. Hall arrived and attempted to settle things down verbally. He let go subject 2, as there was a brief lull. Subject 1 pushed him aside as he was standing beside Cst. Hall. Then it happened fairly quickly, somehow subject 2 managed to punch Cst. Hall in the head, while subject 1 was going nuts in the garage. He got hit in the face by subject 1 twice, and then he punched him back hard in the head about three times. After this, he fell down, got up, and ran to the emergency dept. The security officer (I assume Sirohi) pursued him and got hit at least once or twice by subject 1. Both of them managed to restrain him. At this time more E.C.P. officers arrived, and this whole mess was concluded. While he was tied up with subject 1, Cst. Hall managed to get subject 2 down on the floor and restrain him.