For third time, police decline to lay charges in man's death in Ontario jail

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will not be laying criminal charges against the correctional officers involved in the death of a man at a provincial jail, despite a report from the province's chief forensic pathologist concluding that the actions of the officers led to his death.

Soleiman Faqiri had been living with schizophrenia and died during a struggle with jail guards at Central East Correctional Facility in Lindsay, Ont., on Dec. 11, 2016. In the days before his death, he had been waiting to be transferred to a medical facility.

"Why are people with mental illness treated with this indignity? Why are people with mental illness given to their families in body bags?" Faqiri's older brother, Yusuf, told CTV News.

In an email obtained by CTV News, the OPP wrote there was "insufficient evidence to form the requisite grounds to believe a criminal offence has been committed."

This most recent investigation was spurred by an August 2021 report from Dr. Michael Pollanen, Ontario's chief forensic pathologist. In his report, Pollanen said Faqiri's death was due to "Prone position restraint and musculocutaneous injuries sustained during struggle, exertion and pepper spray exposure."

The 30-year-old had more than 50 blunt force injuries and was in shackles and placed in a spit hood, the report said. Pollanen also noted Faqiri had "an enlarged heart and worsening schizophrenia," which were exacerbated by the injuries he sustained.

The OPP's insistence that there was "insufficient evidence" baffles Yusuf.

"If that's insufficient evidence, I don't know what else there is left to hold criminal accountability to the death Soleiman Faqiri. OPP seems to think that there should be a different standard and that's a problem," he said.

This also marks the third time that police have declined to lay charges in Faqiri's death.

In October 2017, the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service announced that "no grounds exist to process criminal charges against anyone who was involved with Mr. Faqiri prior to his death."

Four days after the announcement from police, the original post-mortem concluded Faqiri's death was "unascertained" -- a finding that the Pollanen report called "perplexing."

Two years later, the OPP announced that it would reopen the investigation into Faqiri's death, but in August 2020, the provincial police also said no charges would be filed in the incident.

"Why is it when law enforcement commit these heinous acts against vulnerable Canadians and Ontarians, they are not held accountable?" Yusuf said. "I don't know what else there is left to hold criminal accountability to the death of Soleiman Faqiri. OPP seems to think that there should be a different standard."

The elder Faqiri says his family has lost faith in the justice system and believes his brother, who was in jail on multiple assault charges, should’ve been in a hospital, not a jail cell. He says the only reason his brother wasn't in a hospital at the time was because he was waiting for a bed to open up.

"The thing that makes the story so tragic is that the system is supposed to be in place to help individuals," he said. "My brother deserve better, but Ontarians and Canadians deserve better. The jails have become the new hospital."

In a statement, the OPP said the pathology report was carefully considered by both police and the Crown, but declined to comment further as a coroner’s inquest is planned.

While no date has been set, the family hopes the coroner's inquest will shed more light on what happened.

"The fight to gain justice for Soleiman Faqiri is far from over. We remain resilient and we remain steadfast to creating justice for Soleiman and the many other Canadians and Ontarians that suffer within the justice system," Yusuf said. "The coroner's inquest will go a long way to show more of what happened to Soleiman Faqiri and we will be ready."