'His last words were mommy' cellmate testifies at Errol Greene inquest

The man who shared a cell with Errol Greene in the hours before his death testified he saw corrections officers shoving Greene's face into the ground while he was having a seizure.

Stephen King told the court he was playing chess with another inmate when heard someone shout "he's doing the funky chicken."

King told the court he knew it had to be Greene and he ran to find his cellmate convulsing on the floor. 

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"He was shaking, all of his muscles were shaking beyond his control," said King. "Was he flailing, no, was he vibrating, yes."

On Friday, the fifth day of what's expected to be a three-week-long inquest into Greene's 2016 death in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre, King testified he rolled Greene onto his side and supported his head until a corrections officer arrived.

At that point he said he was put in the cell he shared with Greene, while Greene was having a seizure right outside the door. 

King said the corrections officers were rough with Greene as they handcuffed him, enough for him to think Greene's arms were broken.

"Arms are not supposed to move that way," he told the court. 

The inquest heard from the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Monday that there was no evidence of broken arms, just bruises and evidence of handcuffs on his wrists because of scraping on the wrists.

King told the court he was then moved to the furthest cell from where Greene was and all the cell windows were covered.

That was the last time he saw Greene, but said he could hear him asking the guards for water and his medication. 

"His last words were 'mommy, mommy,'" said King before he testified to hearing a thud and then silence. 

He said he knew Greene was having another seizure and then heard commotion from guards, nurses and paramedics.

Access to medication

King said Greene told him about his epilepsy and said he had not gotten his anti-seizure medication.

King told the court he tried to help Greene because he knew how the remand worked since he has been in and out of jail since he was 11. 

"I got passionate and went up to a guard and said excuse me, this man hasn't gotten his medication," he recalled, saying the officer then slammed the door in his face.

King said he helped Greene fill out three or four medical request forms, but nothing came of it. 

Greene's widow Rochelle Pranteau testified on the first day of the inquest that he told her he hadn't gotten his medication and that he was afraid of having a seizure. 

• Widow testifies at inquest into Errol Greene death: 'I wanted to kiss him goodbye'

He had the first of two seizures that led to his death while talking on the phone with her on May 1.

"I think the first week of the inquest we saw a really clear narrative shaping up and that is that Rochelle was right," said lawyer Corey Shefman, who is representing Pranteau in the inquest. "Errol was not treated the way he should have been treated."

Memory issues

King's memory of the events came into question during his testimony. Inquest counsel Keith Eyrikson questioned King extensively about the statement he gave to police following Greene's death.

King refuted much of his statement and said it was the officers who did the writing.

"Between the three of them they really controlled the direction of what they wanted to hear and my response," he said.

Eryikson asked King why he signed the bottom of each page if he did not believe what was written to be true.

King said he felt that signing the statement was the key to him being able to have his voice heard in court.

"I hit my red level of anxiety and said whatever, I'll sign it," said King. 

King also told the court he had not yet dealt with the trauma of Greene's death. He later told Eyrikson that trauma and stress affects his memory.

Shefman could not comment on King's testimony specifically because all of his evidence hasn't been heard. However, the lawyer pointed out that other witnesses have had memory issues.

• Senior corrections officer made call to shackle Errol Greene during seizures, inquest told

"In the case of the supervising correctional officer who also had memory problems, she's a long-time correctional officer, and so she knows about the policies and practices so I think the important thing in a proceeding like this," he said.

Shefman said this is a common occurrence at inquests because they happen years after a death.

"It's all about fact-finding, so the important thing is getting to the truth, and so we look for all of the ways we can to get to the truth," he said.

King will continue his testimony on Monday.