When William Fisher woke up in his segregation cell at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre at 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2016, something was clearly wrong.
Hours earlier, as his cellmate told a coroner's inquest, Fisher had snorted an "insane amount" of MDMA he had smuggled into segregation in his rectum.
CTV News has obtained prison surveillance video showing the agonizing 10 minutes it took for help to arrive as Fisher stumbled around the cell in clear medical distress. It all happened in clear view of the camera, and raises troubling questions about how he was able to overdose, and why it took so long to get him medical care.
Fisher was supposed to transfer from the pretrial centre to a federal institution because, three days prior to waking up intoxicated, he had been sentenced to three years in prison for taking part in a violent assault during the 2011 Stanley Cup riot.
Fisher had experienced problems with drug and alcohol use previously, a provincial court judge found, but before sentencing he had been sober for two years.
Before he was sent to the segregation cell, corrections officer Maritza Ramirez testified Fisher had been approached by an "influential inmate" and surrounded by several "heavies" while in the yard. She testified Fisher appeared distressed by the encounter.
Later, when Ramirez found Fisher with possible drug contraband during a cell check, Fisher repeatedly told her, "You don't understand. If I don't do this, they're going to kill me."
The inquest heard of these dramatic events leading up to his death, but it's still not clear why Fisher took so much MDMA.
What is clear, though, were the drug's effects. In the video, Fisher is seen sitting up in bed swaying from side to side. Then, he hangs his legs over his top bunk and tries to jump down but falls. This wakes his cellmate, Kyle Cooke.
For the next five minutes, Fisher staggers around the tiny room. He falls down again near the toilet, and gets back up and continues flailing, grabbing the walls for stability.
At 5:39 a.m., his cellmate is seen pushing the emergency call button on the wall.
Three minutes after that, at 5:42 a.m., help finally arrives. By this point, Fisher has been awake and displaying clear signs of distress for more than 10 minutes.
A correctional officer wearing blue latex gloves enters the cell and grabs Fisher's forearm. He pulls back, breaking the grip, and sits on the bottom bunk with his head in his hands.
Four correctional officers then restrain the still agitated man, and escort him out of the cell at 5:43 a.m.
Fisher received medical treatment, but died days later on Feb. 25 at Royal Columbian Hospital.
The verdict at the coroner's inquest classified his death as accidental, due to acute MDMA toxicity.
The jury made five recommendations, three of which had to do with more resources and staffing to constantly monitor inmates in segregation.
It appears it was up to the judgment of either Fisher or his cellmate to push the call button for help to arrive. Pushing it is frowned upon by other inmates, Cooke, his cellmate, testified.
Cooke also said Fisher snorted the MDMA in the cell, but was able to conceal his actions from the camera.
The fourth recommendation was to establish a paramedic station in Port Coquitlam and the fifth to train staff to effectively communicate medical emergency scene information.
CTV News asked to speak with Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, who oversees corrections in B.C. We also asked to speak with the BC Government Employees Union, which represents corrections officers.
Neither agreed to an interview.
Instead, BC Corrections issued a statement to CTV calling the death a "tragedy" and explaining body scanners have since been installed at North Fraser Pretrial and three other correctional centres that can detect contraband inside the rectum.
Six more have also been purchased for installation at other centres this year.
The scanners were installed at institutions seen as higher risk for drugs coming in, partly because of the higher volume of remanded inmates moving in and out of custody.
According to BC Corrections, staff have noticed inmates becoming aware of the scanning technology and are increasing their attempts to dispose of contraband before being scanned.
It also said more supports are available to inmates now than in 2016.
"The transfer of correctional healthcare to the Provincial Health Services Authority in 2017 has also significantly enhanced substance use and mental health supports for inmates in custody, as well as connections to care upon release," the statement read.
The agency did not go into detail, however, about specific programs that may have helped inmates like Fisher.
It also said a review of segregation that's meant to enhance safety for inmates is near completion.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber
