The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer testified that his superior told him to avoid a 60-year-old man who was later found dead in custody at Central Police Station in 2023 after the officer reported that the man appeared unwell and was calling out in distress.

The statement came during an inquest before Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux, examining the circumstances of Hartman Dawkins’ sudden death on January 22, 2023. Officers reportedly discovered him unresponsive in his cell during routine morning checks.

An officer had previously testified that there was a six-hour gap in Dawkins’ detention record between his last wellness check and the discovery of his body, calling such a lapse “highly unusual.”

Before his testimony, jurors were taken to the station, where they were shown how Dawkins’ body was found, lying face down in a cell.

Police Constable Roc’Juorn Gardiner testified that he arrived at the station at 11.50pm on January 21, 2023, for his midnight-to-8am shift.

He said the supervising officer that night, Corporal Duncombe, showed up an hour late at 1am. Until then, another corporal was in charge and remained at the station until relieved. CPL Gardiner also recalled seeing a constable when he arrived. However, he could not remember which officer was stationed at the cell block.

During his shift, he recalled Constable Kenneth Johnson requesting bleach to clean up a cell where a suspect had defecated. He estimated that there were at least ten prisoners in custody that night.

Sometime after midnight, CPL Gardiner said he saw Dawkins holding onto a wall and rocking back and forth. When he asked how he was doing, Dawkins replied that he was fine. Dawkins then requested to use the bathroom, and after being escorted by an officer, he was given toilet paper and water. CPL Gardiner said the deceased appeared to be walking normally at that time.

Around 2am, he said Dawkins sat upright in his cell, repeatedly shouting, “Oh Lord, oh Lord.” Concerned about his condition, CPL Gardiner informed CPL Duncombe, who dismissed his concerns, telling him Dawkins was sick and to stay away from him. Gardiner said he was also told not to worry about the detainee.

CPL Gardiner said he later responded to a disturbance at Climax Lounge downtown before taking a break from 3am to 5am. When he returned to the station, he did not see Dawkins again until breakfast at 7am, when he was found unresponsive.

He said an officer checked Dawkins for vitals before informing Sergeant Gary St Fleur, who also conducted a check. CPL Gardiner’s shift ended just as emergency medical services were called.

When the jury asked why his account of Dawkins’ condition at 2am was not recorded in the detention log, CPL Gardiner responded that he was new to the station, having left police college just two months prior. He said his supervising officer was responsible for updating the record.

He confirmed to Coroner Deveaux that he did not receive a proper briefing when he arrived for his shift. He also claimed that the corporal scheduled to oversee the station that night had called in sick. CPL Gardiner said that, at most, only four officers were at the station at any given time that night.

When questioned about the lack of an official record of his break, he said it should have been logged in the station diary.

He admitted that he did not perform CPR on Dawkins, claiming he feared the deceased might have AIDS and could spit on him. He also alleged that Dawkins had been trying to drink water off the floor.

CPL Gardiner said that while Constable Enrique Bain checked on prisoners that night, CPL Duncombe never did.

During cross-examination by evidence marshal Angelo Whitfield, CPL Gardiner read from the detention record, which said at 1am that Dawkins appeared well and at 1.28am that he had requested to use the bathroom.

Coroner Deveaux noted inconsistencies in CPL Gardiner’s testimony, pointing out that while the detention record indicated he checked Dawkins hourly, he had testified that he did not check on him during his break.

She questioned whether officers simply filled out forms rather than conducting proper checks.

Constable Kenneth Johnson, who also worked the midnight-to-8am shift that night, testified that CPL Duncombe arrived late.

He, too, could not recall the exact number of detainees but estimated there were more than ten.

PC Johnson said that around 11.30pm, while conducting cell checks, Dawkins told him he had been vomiting. However, he saw no vomit in the cell. He said he reported this to CPL Hepburn.

PC Johnson could not recall whether he asked Dawkins if he had a medical condition or was on medication.

He admitted to checking the cells only twice while Dawkins was alive — once while bringing in another suspect.

He said the next time he saw Dawkins was in the morning when he was unresponsive on the floor.

Referring to the detention record, he noted that his only entries regarding Dawkins were at 11.27pm and 7.49am — after he had died. He said he received no directives from supervising officers that night.

He also admitted that after finding Dawkins unresponsive, he waited for instructions before calling dispatch. In retrospect, he said, after two years on the job, he would have called for help immediately and ensured it was recorded on camera.

He said he was on break from 3.30am to 5.30am, around the same time as PC Gardiner.

He claimed no supervising officer gave him instructions upon arrival.

When questioned about his activities during his shift, PC Johnson said he was on foot patrol from 1.30am to 3.30am before taking his break. He also claimed to have checked the cells at some point and that CPL Gardiner had been with him on patrol.

Mr Whitfield questioned how CPL Gardiner could have reported Dawkins at 2am if he was on foot patrol with Johnson. PC Johnson said he could not explain the discrepancy.

He confirmed to the coroner that at police college, officers were trained to check on detainees hourly.

He said only half the scheduled shift showed up that night. In addition to the corporal calling in sick, he said another high-ranking officer was also absent.