REGINA — Testimony resumed in the afternoon Wednesday at the inquest into the death of Samwel Uko in Regina.
Uko died at Wascana Lake on May 21, 2020. The testimony Wednesday had focused on his two attempts that day to get care at the Regina General Hospital, and on his forcible removal from the premises by security guards prior to his drowning at Wascana Lake later that evening.
The questions Wednesday focused on the issues Uko was having in getting registered as a patient at the hospital, where he was stuck in limbo between the registration and triage areas.
One of those on the stand was Sara Thompson, a registered nurse in the triage section at Regina General Hospital. During morning testimony, Thompson had testified Uko had been sitting in a chair nearby where she was processing patients in the triage area. But that was creating issues in processing patients coming through and she had said he could sit “anywhere but there.”
It was during Thompson’s testimony that security video was played from the triage area of Regina General Hospital. Near the end of that video Uko was seen being removed by security, and he was heard loudly yelling "leave me alone,” and “I have mental issues.”
It was at that moment that Uko's sister interrupted the proceedings by saying "Did you hear that, did you hear that?" She also yelled at the witness: "My own f---ing brother is gone because of you, you b—ch!"
At that moment proceedings were halted. Regarding the outburst, SHA lawyer Reginald Watson told Coroner Robert Kennedy it was “completely inappropriate."
The hearing resumed at 12:30 p.m. with lengthy remarks by Kennedy addressing the outburst.
He called what happened on May 21, 2020 a “senseless tragedy.”
“None of us can change the past. All we can attempt to do is make the future a better place.”
Given what transpired, he said he concluded he needed to go into greater detail as to why the inquest system plays a valuable role. He noted the system was about “changing the future.” It was not about “making a determination of the guilt or responsibility of any person or institution in the past.”
Kennedy also noted he had the power to remove people from the inquest but did not expect to use them, and asked the jury to "completely ignore" what happened.
Thompson’s testimony then resumed on the stand. When asked by Watson if race made a difference, she responded every patient was "treated with the same level of respect and attention regardless of race, ethnicity or creed.”
After Thompson, the focus shifted to testimony from six more afternoon witnesses.
Four witnesses were security guards at Regina General Hospital who described how the removal of Uko from the hospital transpired. On the stand, the security guards’ testimony seemed to have a consistent theme. The guards indicated they were never given a direct order to remove Uko from the hospital itself and had come to the decision collectively themselves. They also pointed to COVID-19 policies in place to remove people who were not supposed to be in the hospital or were not patients there, but were not clear about where that policy came from or who made it.
There was also witness testimony from Regina Police constables Trent Walker and Andrea Renchko, who had brought Uko into the hospital.
During Walker’s testimony, several calls Uko had made to 911 were replayed, including one lengthy conversation with a 911 dispatcher who had tried to find out Samwel’s name and where he was located.
Walker had testified he responded to a call and had given Uko a ride to the hospital. He noted Uko was taken on his own request and he was never under arrest.
The officers also recounted the issues they had in trying to confirm Uko’s identity, though Walker did manage to find out Uko's name and date of birth. Walker testified they did provide Uko’s name and date of birth to the registration desk at the hospital.
However, the registration desk could not locate his name in their records, and the officers themselves said they were initially been under the belief his first name was “Samuel.”
The officers had tried looking up the name on their own systems, but to no avail: they confirmed the reason he wasn’t in the system was because Uko had never been in trouble and had no criminal record.
When asked by Ritter if Uko was “in the place he needed to be” by being taken to the hospital, Walker concurred and then he broke down on the stand, prompting a five-minute recess.
One of the Uko family members reacted by looking at Walker and said “God bless you.” Later, Uko’s uncle, Justin Nye, thanked the two officers for trying to help Uko that day.
At the conclusion of the day, the indication from coroner’s counsel Robin Ritter was that witness testimony would conclude Thursday. The indication from Kennedy is that if the witness testimony wraps up by noon it is possible he could give his charge to the jury and they could begin deliberations that afternoon. If not, it would happen Friday.
