Emotional testimony at coroner’s inquest looking into death of suspect in custody

The inquest continues into the deaths of two men who died in London police custody. CTV’s Nick Paparella reports.

As the coroner’s inquest enters its second week, the jury heard from one of the officers who was on duty at the London Police Service jailcells at the time of one of the deaths.

Sgt. Kenneth Poustie was working the night 34-year-old Fabian Hart was arrested in February of 2021.

He told the inquest that he was monitoring Hart’s condition as it worsened, saying, “The majority of people coming into cells are dealing with drug or alcohol issues.”

Hart told the officer that he was an alcoholic with Poustie saying, “He (Hart) expressed concern about going into withdrawal. He said he felt nauseous and was shaky.”

The officers on duty provided Hart with sugary juices and some soup to help with the situation.

The sergeant told the jury, “During this interaction, Mr. Hart was concerned that his symptoms of withdrawal would get worse and worse to the point where he may have a seizure. He didn’t indicate that there was any predisposition to that.”

The officers added, “I didn’t think there was any imminent threat of a seizure, if there was I would have looked at having him transported to hospital.”

The five-person jury has seen video of Hart in his cell. He can be observed shaking and eventually his body goes limp.

He was rushed to hospital where he was later pronounced dead, with the cause of death being methamphetamine toxicity.

The coroner’s inquest is looking into the deaths of Hart and 55-year-old Christopher Campbell, who also died while in police custody three years earlier.

Before wrapping up, Poustie got emotional and gave condolences to the Hart family, “This was my absolute nightmare happening down there...I hope being a part of this process brings them some degree of closure.”

The inquest is expected to hear from about 20 witnesses.