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Guard denies pushing Edmonton teen down
elevator shaft
Last Updated Mon, 17 Jan 2005 21:48:23 EST
CBC News
EDMONTON - A courthouse guard who was with Kyle
Young when he died falling five storeys down an elevator shaft while
in custody, said he wasn't pushing the Edmonton teen against the
lift doors when they suddenly opened.
Chris Chambers, testifying at a provincial
inquiry into Young's death, said he was helping move Young to a
holding cell on another floor when the incident happened.
 Young
– handcuffed, in leg shackles and escorted by two guards – fell to
his death in the young offenders section of the Edmonton courthouse
on Jan. 22, 2004.
Chambers said the 16-year-old, who was known to
spit at guards, threatened the guards and their families as they
moved him towards the elevator.
Chambers told the inquiry he held Young by his
neck, face first against the corner of the elevator door. The teen
began squirming, so another guard, Constable Fayad, came to help.
"'I reached for him. To no avail.'
The moment Const. Ali Fayad put his arm on
Kyle's back, the door swung open...he went straight forward. He
turned 180 degrees and was facing us. I reached for him. To no
avail," Chambers said.
No one was charged in Young's death. A
provincial investigation concluded guards used a "reasonable" amount
of force.
The authorities also decided that there was
insufficient evidence to charge anyone in connection with the death,
based on an investigation done by Edmonton Police homicide
detectives.
Kyle Young's mother disagrees.
"The elevator was apparently in good working
order. It had been inspected somewhere near a month before and it
just pops off, with no help from anybody?" Lorena Young asked.
Former guard John Tomaino, who was there when
Young fell, previously testified that the elevator door had been
knocked off its tracks at least twice before Young's death, but he
didn't know what steps had been taken to fix it.
Chambers said he had never heard about problems
with the elevator. He also said he was never told to keep quiet
about the accident. Tomaino said the guards were intimidated.
Into the second week of the inquiry, Lorena
Young said she has more questions than answers. Why was Kyle not
given medication that helped control his behaviour, she asked. And
why was the surveillance camera in front of the elevator not
activated?
Chambers testified he had no idea that Young
was on medication or suffered from mental health problems.
"It's all going to come out in the end. I'm
sure it will all come out in the end," she said. Meanwhile, Kyle
Young's sister, Amanda Grift, acknowledged Kyle could be difficult.
"He didn't deserve the best treatment but he
didn't deserve the worst treatment either," she said.
The inquiry, which was scheduled to end this
week, can only make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
There's so much evidence to go through, the inquiry will be
continued in June. |
