A report on the death of a Dorchester prison inmate says the repeated use of pepper spray at close range likely contributed to his death.
Canada’s correctional investigator says the death of 33-year-old Matthew Ryan Hines of Sydney in May of 2015 was preventable. Ivan Zinger’s report says correctional staff used unnecessary physical and chemical force, and failed to properly respond to Hines’s rapid onset of medical complications.
A statement from the family says they they are grateful for the thorough and detailed investigation.
Don Head, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, issued a release apologizing to the family and that they are committed to making sure the lessons learned from his death are engrained in their response to similar situations in the future.