Video played during Halifax jail assault trial shows inmates blockading guards

HALIFAX — A trial for six of 15 inmates accused of participating in a vicious assault on a prisoner at a Nova Scotia jail began Wednesday with video showing inmates suddenly gathering to form a barrier in front of guards.

The videos presented by the prosecution included various angles inside the two-storey unit where the alleged attack occurred on Dec. 2, 2019, during which the victim sustained lifethreatening injuries at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, N.S.

The union that represents correctional officers at the jail has alleged a large group of inmates deliberately blockaded guards from reaching the victim, Stephen Francis Anderson, who has since recovered from his injuries.

After the alleged attack is over, some of the inmates in the video appear celebratory.

One man is taken to his cell with his arms over his head, while others hug and thump their chests together before going into their cells. One man not wearing a shirt hops on a table and raises his arms.

The first defendants facing trial are Colin Ladelpha, Kirk Carridice, Jacob Lilly, Wesley Hardiman, Omar Mcintosh and Matthew Lambert. They are facing charges of conspiring to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful confinement, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and obstructing a peace officer.

Lilly also faces a charge of assaulting a guard in connection with the case before Justice Jamie Campbell of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Eight other inmates are facing the same charges in a trial set for later this fall, and a 15th inmate, Sophon Sek, is facing the same charges but will have a separate trial.

The trial is taking place in a convention centre room half the size of a football field, with 12 sheriffs surrounding six tables, and two large screens playing the various angles of the alleged attack.

Crown attorney Rick Woodburn asked the court to pause the video as he identified the victim entering his cell on the first level of the two-storey triangular-shaped unit. Inmates gather on the balcony of the second level, apparently conferring with one another. They also sit in the first-floor day room around tables, talking.

One of the videos shows a group of inmates emerging from a cell on the second level, despite rules prohibiting gatherings inside individual cells.

The alleged attack occurred between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time. Video presented in court Wednesday show people milling about in the day room and then suddenly a group of inmates seem to move toward the cell of the victim as others quickly follow to line up outside the cell door.

Video shows a group entering the victim’s cell and another inmate sliding the door partially shut.

Within seconds, guards attempt to approach the cell, but several inmates stand in front of them. One inmate gestures for other inmates to join those blocking the guards.

Within minutes, more guards enter the day room and inmates continue to stand between them and the cell.

Only one or two inmates in the unit appear to stand back from the scene of the alleged assault.

“The officers who attempted to enter the day room … were blocked by inmates of that day room,” said Andrew Miller, a security risk manager at the facility who testified about the video.

Miller testified that protocols required officers to first ensure all the inmates were locked back in their cells before the could offer Anderson medical attention.

The video shows the victim being led out of the day room, still walking, after the attack ended, shortly before 8 p.m.

“Once the assault was finished … the immediate thing is to lockdown the day room, stop the assault and remove the inmate if they can be moved out and taken to health care unit,” Miller said.