Weeks before he died, Seamus Flynn made formal complaint about alleged prison assault

Seamus Flynn said he had four teeth left, because the rest of them had been knocked out.

The 35-year-old inmate called CBC News on Nov. 21. He was insistent — he and other inmates on unit 3B at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's were beaten unnecessarily by prison guards the month before.

His story was backed up by another inmate who was on the same range, who said Flynn got the worst of it.

"If I was smaller, they would have killed me," said Flynn, speaking from a payphone. "It was far beyond any street fight."

According to multiple sources, including family members, Flynn died on the first weekend in December.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety has confirmed that a man died Dec. 2 after being taken to the hospital from HMP.

Officials have not released a cause of death. There is no indication that injuries Flynn allegedly sustained two months ago played any role.

Fellow inmates are calling for a full investigation into the events of Oct. 11 and the care Flynn received in the ensuing weeks before he died.

The Justice Department said an internal review of the situation determined the correctional officers acted appropriately. 

Flynn told CBC News he was playing a video game in his allotted time slot when the trouble began. It was just before lunch, Flynn said, and a correctional officer told a younger inmate he had to move to a different area of the prison to make way for someone else.

"He was just a kid and frightened," Flynn said.

As an act of defiance, the inmates refused to lock in their cells. This, Flynn admitted, was when younger inmates took things too far, by pouring a half-litre of soap on the floor. Another inmate removed a wooden shelf from their cell. 

"It looked serious," Flynn said. 

'Have some fun with you'

Flynn said he had no interest in getting institutional charges and wanted to defuse the situation. He said he cleaned up the soap and put the piece of wood at the entrance of the unit for correctional officers to get when they entered the unit. 

He said things had settled down when, hours later, the prison's emergency response team, clothed in riot gear and holding shields, entered the unit.

In a formation, the group of correctional officers moved methodically to each cell, locking them one by one, Flynn said. 

Flynn said no one resisted. Some guards left, he said, and others stayed.

Then, Flynn said he heard the guards say, "We're going to have some fun with you."

Flynn said he was beaten in his cell by four members of the emergency response team wearing steel-toed boots and reinforced knuckles. He said he was kicked and punched, and all but four of his teeth were knocked out.

Speaking with CBC News more than a month after the incident, Flynn said his vision and hearing still weren't back to normal. 

While the alleged assault happened in his cell, out of view of prison cameras, Flynn said other inmates certainly heard it, and saw the aftermath.

"They thought [the guards] were going to kill me," he said, adding the correctional officers also used pepper spray.

Flynn's story is corroborated by Ian Williams, an inmate who said he was also on unit 3B on Oct. 11.

Williams spoke with CBC News on Dec. 4, about 48 hours after Flynn's death. He also provided a copy of a letter he wrote seven days after the incident, which he addressed to the head of HMP, the Office of the Citizens' Representative, and his lawyer.

Williams told a story similar to Flynn's, about soap on the floor and putting the wood — which he said came from shelving — at the front of the unit. There were no threats against guards, Williams said.

"I watched the guards trample over it [the PlayStation] and beat it up and stuff like that. And beat up the fridge and the microwave."

Williams said he heard the screams from the other units and believed inmates were being assaulted.

"I just heard the yelling and the screaming and the begging and then when each person [came] out they were walking backwards with their hands behind their back and blood dripping off their face and their face was swollen up," Williams said.

"It was kind of a disaster. It was really, really hard to take in."

In preparation for the guards visiting his own cell, Williams said he laid face down on the floor with his feet crossed and hands behind his back.

Williams alleges several guards assaulted him with their hands, feet and shields.

"I went blurry in my vision, I kind of went blank there because I got a hard kick to the head," Williams said. 

"My eyes were swelled shut. I had two black eyes. My nose was sore. They give me a hard kick in my left temple is really what freaked me out with the most."

Williams said he was taken to solitary confinement and didn't see a doctor until two days later. He was taken to hospital two weeks later, at his own insistence.

"I felt so alone. I felt like killing myself from the pain because I didn't know if they [were] going to hurt me again," Williams wrote in his letter to the citizens' rep.

"I have no one else to ask for help. I'm scared to reach out. Please listen. I'm human."

Williams requested a full review of the closed-circuit video from the unit and the segregation cell where he stayed following the incident. 

Taken to 'the Hole'

In his interview with CBC News last month, Flynn said he was taken to "the Hole" — a segregated space used to separate inmates from the general population. It has been criticized in the past because of its effects on inmates. 

He alleged he was in a dry cell for five days without access to a doctor, or a call to his lawyer.

Flynn said an official at the prison took photos of his injuries, but not until more than a week after the incident happened.

Flynn said he also made a complaint to the citizens' representative, one of the only independent routes for inmates to flag concerns about what is happening inside HMP. 

Flynn's lawyer, Ken Hollett, confirmed to CBC News that his client filed a complaint with the watchdog's office.

Watchdog mum on whether probe underway

In a statement, Bradley Moss, the province's citizens representative, said he is bound by secrecy and privacy provisions in the act that governs his office.

Moss said he could not confirm or deny that he is conducting an investigation.

However, he said his office does receive calls from correctional institutions over concerns about use of force. 

"We take the use of force in correctional institutions seriously, either referring matters to law enforcement in cases of possible assault, or reviewing footage and evidence to determine if the use of force is proportional to the situation at hand," Moss said.

"We have, on occasion, retained experts outside the province to assist with more complex reviews. No correctional officer has a licence to use unlimited force."

Statistics provided by Moss's office show there have been 43 allegations of excessive use of force across the provincial correctional system over the last three years. These complaints could come from a single inmate, the same inmate multiple times, or from an entire prison unit signing a complaint form.

Incident 'handled appropriately,' officials say

CBC News contacted the Department of Justice and Public Safety on Dec. 4 to ask if it was aware of an alleged assault.

According to spokesperson Eric Humber, the prison was locked down on Oct. 11 due to "a disturbance."

Humber indicated that one inmate suffered minor injuries and received medical attention.

"We commend the work of the well-trained correctional officers at HMP for diffusing the situation, and for ensuring that appropriate security measures are in place for the safety and well-being of inmates, correctional staff and outside workers," Humber wrote in an emailed statement.

In a followup statement sent Tuesday, the department said a review was completed by the head of the institution and captain of security. 

"It was verified the situation was handled appropriately," that statement said.

"The Office of the Citizens' Representative has also requested and been provided with all material related to the situation in question."

The department said all those involved were offered medical attention immediately afterward and stressed inmates are always permitted to call their lawyers.

Meanwhile, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said an investigation into Flynn's sudden death remains open.

But the RNC would neither confirm nor deny whether it is looking into any alleged assault.

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