Inquest begins today into death of Windsor man at South West Detention Centre

First day of an inquest into the death of inmate Joseph Gratton at South West Detention Centre. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has details.

A coroner’s inquest is underway into the death of a 31-year-old man who died in custody at Windsor’s South West Detention Centre in 2019.

Joseph Gratton died on Oct. 30, 2019. His death is subject to a mandatory inquest under Ontario’s Coroners Act, which requires one be held when a person dies while detained.

The inquest, which began Monday morning and is expected to last five days, is being conducted by video conference. Dr. Richard Wells is presiding over the proceedings, with Julian Roy serving as inquest co-counsel.

About five witnesses are expected to testify.

Shortly after the inquest began, Roy acknowledged Gratton’s mother, Lori Clifford, while expressing condolences and thanking her for participating in the process.

“Losing a family member before their time is a tragedy that is felt in unique and terrible ways,” Roy said. “It’s made worse in this case because Joseph was in a provincial correctional facility where you trusted he was safe in a difficult time in his life, and that faith you had in that system, that he would be safe there and in us was broken when he died.”

He continued, “I know that our process here cannot help you with your grief of losing your precious son and this is going to be a very difficult week for you to hear, but I hope you will get some answers about what happened, and this will help you in some measure with your healing.”

The jury heard on the opening day that Jospeh Gratton died from fentanyl toxicity, according to autopsy results.

A toxicology report that was entered as evidence revealed Gratton had 22 nanograms of fentanyl inside his system.

The inquest is examining the circumstances that led to his death, including testimony that both Gratton and his cellmate, Blake Carter, were found in medical distress inside their cell by correctional officers.

Carter survived the incident but has since died, the inquest heard.

The first witness called was corrections officer Staff Sgt. Peter Spourdalakis, who oversaw operations for several units at the South West Detention Centre. While he had no direct issues with Gratton, he testified that Carter had a history of breaking facility rules and being caught with contraband.

Jurors were also shown video evidence from inside the facility. One clip shows corrections officer Chris Rogers kicking on the door of Gratton and Carter’s cell during an evening shift security check and shortly later returning when a commotion begins.

The proceeding heard that Rogers, who was working an overtime shift, informed her supervisor she had previously experienced conflict with Gratton.

Rogers is expected to testify on Tuesday.

The jury also reviewed how staff responded once the medical emergency became apparent. In hindsight, Spourdalakis told the jury he would have had the sliding jail cell doors open differently and expressed interest in seeing additional security cameras installed throughout the facility.

He noted since Gratton’s death, there have been more unannounced K-9 searches that have proven effective at keeping contraband materials out of the corrections facility.

The inquest may result in a series of recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future.

Members of the public can view the proceedings live online.

CTV News Windsor will provide updates as the inquest continues throughout the week.