They wanted justice for mentally ill loved one who died in jail. Now those hopes are crushed
CBC
For nearly a year, the family of Soleiman Faqiri held out hope that this time things might be different — that they might finally see criminal charges against the guards who pepper-sprayed, shackled and held the 30-year-old face down in the moments before his death.
Now, that hope has been snuffed out.
CBC News obtained a copy of an email this week that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had sent to the family last February informing them that police again would be laying no charges. That email closed the door after a years-long fight to have someone held responsible for Faqiri's death. His loved ones say they didn't come forward at the time because they were still processing their pain and anger. But now, they're speaking out exclusively to CBC Toronto.
"We honestly believed that the OPP would once and for all make the right decision, but they continue to let down my family," Faqiri's older brother, Yusuf, said.
"The system has a double standard: one for us Canadians, and the rest for law enforcement," he said, referring to the correctional officers involved.
"It failed to uphold justice."
This is the third time police have decided not to lay charges against the guards involved the day Faqiri died at the Central East Correctional Centre in December 2016. Two prior criminal investigations by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service and the OPP resulted in no charges.
That's despite Ontario's chief forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Pollanen determining last year that Faqiri's death was the result of being held face down, as well as from the injuries he suffered when six guards restrained him and struck him repeatedly.
The 30-year-old, who lived with schizophrenia, had been charged with aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats after an altercation with a neighbour, and was awaiting psychiatric care at a mental health facility at the time of his death.
In the days after Pollanen's findings, Faqiri's case was referred back to the OPP for review, putting the possibility of criminal charges back on the table. Several advocacy groups issued a joint statement calling on police and Crown prosecutors to lay criminal charges against the guards.
But then came the OPP email, dated Feb. 23, that confirmed their worst fears. Once again, there would be no charges, the email said, with no reasoning as to how police came to their decision or exactly what the review entailed.
In the email, Det.-Insp. Brad Collins offered his reassurance that "a thorough and objective investigation was completed."
Still, he said, "there remains insufficient evidence to form the requisite grounds to believe a criminal offence has been committed by an individual or group."
"How is there not enough evidence when you have an eyewitness into a man's beating death, you have the chief pathologist articulating that the guards' actions directly led to Soli's murder?" asked Yusuf.