Family of Kyriakos Vogiatzakis wants inquiry into death, has issues with emergency medical response

An outraged Mike Vogiatzakis lashed out at Winnipeg's 911 service, politicians and the provincial justice system on Tuesday morning as he called for an inquiry into the death of his younger brother.

"I have a lot of anger built up in me. I have a lot of frustration built up in me," he told reporters at a news conference inside the Cork & Flame restaurant that his brother, Kyriakos, owned and managed.

The 51-year-old Kyriakos died on Jan. 24 after being beaten by another man outside the Portage Avenue business.

According to Vogiatzakis, a 911 call was made at 5:30 p.m. but the ambulance didn't arrive until 5:55 p.m. And when paramedics pulled out the defibrillator, it wasn't working.

It took another eight minutes for a second ambulance to bring a working defibrillator, he said.

"My brother was on the street for 25 minutes without care," Vogiatzakis said. "911 failed our family and the city of Winnipeg miserably."

According to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, "all equipment used at the scene that day was operating correctly."

"We have procedures in place to address concerns, including debriefing and incident reviews by the WFPS medical director," a WFPS spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. "WFPS encourages the family of the patient to reach out to us."

Vogiatzakis said his timeline comes from a video that one of his other brothers watched. He didn't say where the video came from and wouldn't share it at the news conference, saying it was too graphic.

A police cruiser was first on scene at 5:46 p.m., followed by a second one two minutes later, and then a fire paramedic truck at 5:49 p.m., he said.

None of them had defibrillators, Vogiatzakis said.

"Shouldn't 911 check their equipment before they leave the station? Their job was to try and save my brother but they failed him that day," Vogiatzakis said, asking why the fire paramedic service wouldn't have been equipped with one.

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said in an email to CBC News that the 911 call came at 5:37 p.m. and crews were dispatched at 5:39 p.m.

They confirmed the times the emergency crews arrived were the same as given by Vogiatzakis. However, the spokesperson said the fire paramedic unit would have been equipped with cardiac monitors capable of defibrillation.

"In accordance with PHIA [Personal Health Information Act], we are not able to provide any information on interventions provided to the patient," the email reads.

The city spokesperson also said they couldn't provide details about another patient at the scene. Vogiatzakis told CBC a restaurant employee suffered a seizure while coming to his brother's aid.

Vogiatzakis noted the Grace Hospital is a short walk across Portage Avenue from the Cork & Flame but he said the ambulances came from the Health Sciences Centre — a 10-kilometre drive away.

"We could have carried my brother to the hospital quicker than the response that took place that evening, and that's disgusting," Vogiatzakis said.

'Things went wrong': Vogiatzakis

Whether a quicker response with a defibrillator would have made a difference won't be clear until the autopsy results come back, he said. Nevertheless, Vogiatzakis said "things went wrong" and he called for in inquiry.

There's no way to bring Kyriakos back but other people rely on 911 "and they need to be there for us when we call them," Vogiatzakis said.

"Let's try and save the next person's life. Let's try and make a difference."

Vogiatzakis also chastised "the rotating doors of the court system" for allowing Curtis Ross Dalebozik, who has a long criminal record, to be repeatedly freed on bail.

Dalebozik, 38, is now charged with manslaughter in the death of Kyriakos.

"If the courts would have did their job my brother would be here with us today, managing his restaurant that he loved, in the community that he loved," Vogiatzakis said.

"I'm disgusted with the way the city's being run. I'm disgusted with the way my brother's death was taken care of. I've had enough of it, I really have had enough of it."

Family calls for inquiry into death of restaurant owner beaten outside his business

12 months ago

Duration 2:09

The family of restaurant owner Kyriakos Vogiatzakis is demanding an inquiry into his death. His brother, Michael says the system meant to save lives failed.