A dispute over a Covid mask that led to a woman’s death in a Canadian hospital was captured in a newly released security video.
Danielle Stephanie Warriner, 43, died after a confrontation with security guards inside Toronto General Hospital in May 2020.
Two security guards were initially held by Toronto police over the death. But Amanda Rojas-Silva, 42, of Stouffville, and Shane Hutley, 35, of Brougham, had manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death charges thrown out by Superior Court Justice Sean Dunphy last November.
Now the harrowing video of Warriner being restrained by the guards has been released.
The actual events that led to the victim being injured are not captured on the video, which was turned away from the incident as it happened.
But during the incident, investigators said that she was pushed up against the wall, restrained and lost consciousness, which she would never regain.
Officials said that the confrontation happened because Warriner, who suffered from bipolar disorder and was seeking help for breathing difficulties, was not wearing her mask properly.
“After testing negative for COVID-19, all Stephanie was doing was going to the hospital food court looking for something to eat,” her sister Denise told The Toronto Sun.
“The video shows that she was struggling with her breathing and sat on a chair.”
And she added: “There was indifference toward her. She was wrangled like cattle,” said Denise. “She was pushed against the wall, held down and handcuffed. It was heartless, cruel and unnecessary.
“This was not a jail but a hospital. The guards didn’t know this but Stephanie was a beautiful, caring person. She had broken no laws and was harming nobody. She had only lowered the mask to take a breath.”
A coroner’s report stated that the video camera, which was operated remotely by hospital security, was “purposely turned away” from the incident as it escalated.
“While there is some evidence from which the Crown may urge an inference of unlawful conduct on the part of the accused in the way of assault and/or confinement, the actions attributed to the accused for which there is evidence amounted to restraining the deceased with minimal violence, the foreseeable consequences of which would be either trivial or transitory in terms of the potential for bodily harm,” the judge ruled in the criminal case before dismissing it.
The Independent has reached out to University Health Network for comment.
