He went to a St. John’s hospital for help. His family says he was beaten by police.

ST. JOHN’S – The family of a man charged with attempted murder in St. John’s says he was beaten by police after he had sought help from a hospital for his mental illness, forever changing his relationship with authorities.

Mitchell Rose is facing three charges of attempted murder and several charges of assault stemming from an incident at a St. John’s apartment building in December. His mother and sister — Trudy Hickey and Janaya Rose — say he has schizophrenia and was discharged without their knowledge from a court-ordered program that had kept him medicated.

A provincial judge said on Wednesday that Mitchell Rose is fit to stand trial. The accused had been undergoing a psychiatric assessment in the forensic unit of the city’s mental health and addictions hospital and he agreed Wednesday to remain in custody.

His mother and sister say they are speaking out about his experiences because they feel gaps in public safety and the health-care system have failed him and his alleged victims, and they hope his story will prompt change.

They say Rose was in psychosis when he is alleged to have attacked several people on the night of Dec. 8. Hickey called the mobile crisis unit earlier that day, and a police officer arrived at Mitchell Rose’s apartment with a health-care worker to offer him help.

But Rose refused to let them into his apartment, and the team told her there was nothing they could do without his consent, Hickey said.

It was no surprise he wouldn’t let an officer into his home, Hickey said, given his past experience with police.

“Mitchell was familiar with the team (from the court-ordered program). He knew them and there was a degree of trust,” Hickey said in an interview. “As opposed to the police, with guns. He’s scared. He’s been in that situation before.”

On Feb. 2, 2021, less than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, Mitchell Rose sought help with his condition at the emergency room at the Health Sciences Centre hospital in St. John’s, said his sister, Janaya Rose. 

Jess Aylward was in the emergency room when Mitchell Rose arrived that night. He was “clearly” in a state of metal distress, but he was “gentle and nice” to the other patients, Aylward said in an interview.

She found Janaya Rose on social media the next day to tell Rose what she witnessed.

The nurses wanted Mitchell Rose to wear a mask, Aylward said. He told them he didn’t feel safe with a mask on his face, giving reasons that suggested he was unwell, she said. The nurses kept pushing, even bringing in security guards, Aylward said.

“They came back with some security and essentially just kept pushing the issue and pushing him further and further and further, to the point where he got really agitated, and you could see that,” Aylward said in an interview. “But even as he was angry and agitated … he didn’t try to physically hurt anybody or get aggressive in any sense.”

Aylward said he left and a nurse sent a security guard after him.

She left in a taxi at this time, and saw police officers with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary talking to Rose.

“I said to the taxi driver, ‘I don’t think anything good is going to happen here tonight for that man,'” Aylward said. Her account matched the messages she sent Janaya Rose through social media on Feb. 3, 2021, which were viewed by The Canadian Press.

Janaya Rose said police “beat up” her brother that night, and he was taken back into to the hospital because of his injuries. Trudy Hickey said the hospital staff called her “a full day” after her son was injured and admitted, to tell her he was there.

Hickey said she was shocked when she saw him.

The Canadian Press viewed pictures on Janaya Rose’s phone, taken Feb. 5, 2021. His left eye is bruised and swollen nearly shut, and the sclera — the white part of the eye — is bright red. He has a large, heavily scabbed wound on his forehead, slightly right of centre.

Hickey said he was also bruised all over his body.

He was transferred to the Waterford psychiatric hospital and discharged months later, with the court-ordered treatment program in place, Janaya Rose said. Police did not charge Mitchell Rose with any crime that night, Hickey said.

In a statement, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary spokesperson Danielle Barron said the force “does not discuss whether or not a complaint has been received, except to advise on public safety risk or to assist an investigation.”

“All complaints of officer misconduct and criminal allegations are taken very seriously,” Barron said in an email. “The RNC holds its police officers to the highest standard.”

The province’s police oversight agency said it was unable to find a request to investigate the alleged assault. The Serious Incident Response Team, or SIRT-NL, investigates police-involved deaths, injuries, sexual assaults and domestic violence, often at the request of police forces.

“Without further information, we cannot definitively confirm whether we received any such request,” spokesperson Joanne Kavanagh said in an email. She noted that SIRT-NL was not fully operational until June 29, 2021, and requests before that date may not be the agency’s records.

Dr. Pat Parfrey, the former chief executive of Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, told The Canadian Press in December that the authority would review Mitchell Rose’s case. The province’s new Progressive Conservative government has since replaced Parfrey.
The Canadian Press has asked if the health authority will honour Parfrey’s promise under its new interim chief executive, Ron Johnson. The authority had not yet provided an answer as of Wednesday afternoon.

Spokesperson Mikaela Etchegary said families or patients who feel the health authority did not provide adequate care are encouraged to contact its patient relations office.

Hickey said she phoned the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to complain about what happened. But she said she ultimately gave up, saying she felt overwhelmed by the force’s official process for complaints.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.