A Manitoba jail guard charged with criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessaries of life in connection with the death of Anishinaabe inmate William Ahmo has been found not guilty of both charges.
The verdict was delivered Friday in Winnipeg.
Ahmo, 45, from Sagkeeng First Nation died in 2021 after being restrained by guards at the Headingley Correctional Institution.
The father of one had been in a prolonged standoff with guards at the jail west of Winnipeg on Feb. 7, 2021.
A provincial court trial heard Ahmo lost consciousness while guards “extracted” him from the area. He died a week later in a Winnipeg hospital.
Robert Morden, the captain of the jail’s Correctional Emergency Response Unit (CERU), which handled the extraction, was charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide necessaries of life. He pleaded not guilty.
In a video shown on the first day of the trial, Ahmo could be heard yelling and telling the guards, “I can’t breathe.”
They tell him to be quiet, replying “If you can talk you can breathe.”
Ahmo’s mother, Darlene Ahmo, said “My heart is broken” following the verdict.
“I had hoped for justice for my son, but instead, we are left with more questions and no accountability for his death. William’s life mattered, and to see no one held responsible is devastating.”
