Special Constable Greg McCormick of Halifax Regional Police testified before the Nova Scotia inquiry probing the death of Howard Hyde that he did not make threats before tasering Mr. Hyde.  Counsel for Hyde’s family questioned McCormick about several audible phrases:

“You’re going to be doing the fucking dance next.”

The statement was made at the same time McCormick drew his taser.  McCormick testified that Mr. Hyde used the threatening language.  Joanna Blair, Mr. Hydes sister, did not believe Hyde made the threat: “I’m sure because I would have recognized my brother’s voice.”  McCormick also played down the nature of the threat: “It doesn’t seem threatening to me.  It’s a threatening statement, but it’s certainly not a direct threat.”

“We’re just going to cut one of those balls off.”

McCormick testified that he reassured Mr. Hyde he was going to cut the lace around Mr. Hyde’s shorts.  Although the officer did not testify as to his exact words, the word “balls”, made while he was carrying a 10 inch serrated blade, apparently referred to a knot on the drawstring of Mr. Hyde’s shorts.

“Shut up.”

McCormick denied uttering this after Hyde arrived at the station while Hyde was speaking to other officers.

McCormick acknowledged that his supplemental report was written before his notes on the incident, the reverse of standard practice.  McCormick stated that the inconsistency was due to the fact that he had not been trained in notetaking: “As far as my notebook goes, I’m not sure what goes there…  It’s not something that I really know what I should be doing.”

Hyde stopped breathing after being tasered by Special Constable Greg McCormick.  Howard Hyde was revived by officers but died 30 hours later, reportedly after a struggle with corrections officers.

Read more in the Chronicle Herald.

Tags: Death In Custody, RCMP, Taser

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.