Questions remain after courtroom cleared for heavily shackled inmate

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This article was published 22/08/2016 (3679 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg courtroom was cleared and ordered into lockdown Monday to make way for the appearance of a Headingley Correctional Centre prisoner accused of assaulting a peace officer.

In what the judge would later refer to as a “lockdown,” everyone sitting in the public courtroom’s gallery was ordered out prior to the appearance of Kirt Cameron, a former Winnipeg school teacher previously charged in connection to two different sexual assault cases. He was appearing on allegations of assaulting a peace officer during his time in custody and was to appoint a lawyer.

Several lawyers who had been waiting to set upcoming court dates in front of Associate Chief Judge Anne Krahn, in addition to a few members of the public, left the courtroom as about six sheriffs went in, one standing outside the door to prevent entry.

Cameron, in his 40s, was led into the courtroom heavily shackled, with what appeared to be a bright green spit sock covering his mouth and much of his face, as lawyers watched through the glass outside the courtroom door.

Defence lawyer Theodore Mariash, who was appearing in court with the intention of representing Cameron, said the accused was double-handcuffed, his hands restrained in a type of plastic container. His ankles were shackled together and a chain connected his ankles to his arms.

“He was fully shackled. He couldn’t even walk,” Mariash said, saying he hasn’t ever seen such a high level of restraint used on a prisoner.

“I’ve been around for nine years; never seen that before,” he said.

During his nearly 30-minute appearance in front of the judge, Cameron appeared agitated. Mariash said he was shouting, expressing concerns for his safety inside the correctional centre. He said his handcuffs were too tight and protested what he considered unfair treatment.

“He’s expressed certain safety concerns at his current institution and he feels that he needs to state his concerns on the record or they’re not going to be heard, and I tend to agree with that to some extent,” Mariash said.

“He was shouting, he was in an agitated state. I’m not going to say that they’re justified or not justified in how they had him restrained, because I don’t know the whole story.”

Corrections officials didn’t explain why the extra restraints and vacant gallery were necessary prior to Cameron’s appearance in court, Mariash said.

“They gave no explanation. They informed the court clerk that there had been difficulties with Mr. Cameron and they made a separate request shortly thereafter requesting that the courtroom be vacated,” he said, describing the “one-time” request as highly unusual.

Manitoba Justice couldn’t say how common it is for courtrooms to be cleared and prisoners heavily restrained during their appearances before a judge.

“Safety is our primary concern when offenders are transported to or appear in court. The decision on whether to use restraints and the level of staffing is based on the risks assessed to the public, the offender and court staff. There are policies that guide these decisions, but we are unable to provide them for security reasons,” a provincial spokeswoman said in a statement.

An issue arose during the court appearance that prevented Mariash from being officially appointed as Cameron’s lawyer, but he said he expects that will happen soon.

Cameron’s next court date is Sept. 12.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca