Stabbed in the head and suffering PTSD, ex-employee takes B.C. Corrections to human rights tribunal
Liam Britten | CBC News | Posted: December 11, 2020 12:00 PM | Last Updated: December 11, 2020
B.C. Corrections seeks to dismiss complaint, says it did everything possible to accommodate worker
Former correctional supervisor Dave Backeland recalls warning his bosses that letting inmates have pencils in segregation would lead to someone getting stabbed.
He was that someone. The stabbing led to unbearable psychological damage, the end of his career, and now a complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against his former employer, B.C. Corrections.
"Not receiving help or treatment from my employer was probably the most devastating thing that's happened in my life," Backeland, 51, said.
"You're left completely alone, and that is your most vulnerable point, where you need the most support and you actually have zero."
WATCH | Dave Backeland explains how PTSD has made him a different person:
According to a WorkSafeBC incident report, an inmate at Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge swung "clenched fists with pencils in hand" at Backeland on the morning of April 18, 2016.
The inmate stabbed Backeland once in the head. Backeland slammed his head against a steel door and the concrete floor while protecting himself.
Backeland wanted to return to work, slowly, to manage post-traumatic stress disorder.
But in his complaint, he alleges jail management interfered with his return, worsening his symptoms, and then wouldn't accommodate him by moving him to a position such as recruiting, where he couldn't be attacked.
Backeland alleges B.C. Corrections discriminated against him for mental disability. His lawyer, Sebastien Anderson, believes Backeland was seen as "damaged goods" and it was easier to push him out of the service than help him.
Backeland is seeking compensation, including lost wages and the pension he would earn if he finished his career. He estimates the pension alone could be worth $750,000.
Lost hope with process
Backeland was first diagnosed with PTSD in 2003 after an earlier inmate assault.
He came back after a year of gradual exposure to the jail: first by working in a control centre, away from inmates, then returning to front-line duties.
After the stabbing, his psychologist wanted to try that approach again but the jail wouldn't agree to it, which the psychologist concluded led to worsening symptoms.
Efforts to find Backeland a new job in the provincial workforce failed. In November 2018, feeling like he had no other options, Backeland accepted one year's pay and resigned.
The province wants the human rights complaint dismissed. It says there is no position in which a corrections officer would be guaranteed protection from violence.
"The potential for violence is ever-present at FRCC," the province wrote in its dismissal application. "Violence happens in correctional centres in the province at least on a weekly basis and likely on a daily basis."
The tribunal has accepted Backeland's complaint but has not made any findings. Backeland expects the tribunal will rule on the province's dismissal application early in 2021.
B.C. Corrections declined to provide comment for this story as the matter is before the tribunal.
Problem across field
Howard Sapers, former correctional investigator of Canada, said Backeland's story is not unique and correctional staff across Canada have high rates of workplace disability claims and self-reported PTSD.
"Corrections is a little bit behind," Sapers said.
"As one correctional officer once told me, staff wellness is a lot more than having a pizza day at the end of the month. We need support. We need counselling. We need to be able to have respite. We need to be able to talk openly."
Many correctional employees experience trauma or violence, Sapers added. Some experience trauma vicariously as they witness or hear about violence suffered by colleagues.
Sapers said inadequate support for employees with PTSD can lead to distrust between staff and management, which makes employee retention more difficult. It can also make jails less effective at prisoner rehabilitation.
"If [staff], generally speaking, aren't well treated, then it's very difficult for them to treat others well," Sapers said. "There is a public safety aspect to all of this."
Backeland says his mental health has improved somewhat in the years since the assault but believes his PTSD has changed him. He's less outgoing, less joyous, less of a comedian.
Certain things still set him off: loud noises, the smell of human waste. Even the colour red — the colour of inmates' uniforms.
He wants B.C. Corrections to do a better job supporting staff with mental injuries.
"We're supposed to be machines and ... experience anything and just move on, whether it's a death, a suicide or a murder and not show any emotion," Backeland said. "You do it for so long. And then when you can't anymore and it becomes overwhelming, you break down.
"To ... leave employees like myself to fend for themselves is horrible."
CBC Vancouver's Impact Team investigates and reports on stories that impact people in their local community and strives to hold individuals, institutions and organizations to account. If you have a story for us, email impact@cbc.ca.