It’s been 81 days since Nathaniel Schofield died in police custody, and still his family and friends have no answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Schofield, a 36-year-old father of six from Arthur, died on July 10 while in police custody at the Rockwood OPP detachment.
He spent the night in custody, and the next morning was reportedly found in medical distress and rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
He had a court appearance scheduled that day, where his mother, Faye Dzikewich, sat waiting. She wasn’t told he had died until hours after it had happened, and still doesn’t know why or how.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) are investigating the case, and have 120 days to come up with an answer.
In the meantime, his friends and family are left waiting in anticipation, with nothing to do besides press for answers.
The SIU delivers a report within four months, so long as there are no complications, “and at some point after that, we’ll be able to get some more information from the coroner’s office,” said Davin Charney, the lawyer representing the family and who specializes in criminal cases alleging police wrongdoing.
But waiting for that information is a big problem, he said, and creates distrust.
“I don’t think it’s fair at all that families like this family are left in the dark for so long by the SIU and the coroner and the OPP,” he said. “It’s really hard on families.”
That frustration was reflected on Sunday, when about 30 friends and family members marched through downtown to rally outside the Ontario Court of Justice on Wyndham Street, chanting things like “shame on you, we demand answers from the SIU,” as well as “justice for Nathaniel” and “a badge should never be a shield for accountability.”
It was one of several rallies and vigils they've held, and will continue to hold until answers come to light.
“This is a hard thing to do,” said Dzikewich of advocating for information about her son’s death, “but it’s also a great thing to do. We want answers.”
She said she will continue putting pressure on officials and raising awareness until the circumstances of his death, and the way it was handled, are made clear.
“It will help me start to be able to grieve properly,” she said. “This has consumed me.”
According to Charney, there isn’t much the OPP can do because they’re not allowed to release information or comment in any way on the incident during the investigation.
By legislation, the SIU is required to provide a report, parts of which will be made public, which will be provided to the family.
Afterwards, he said they should meet with the family to share information not available to the public, and provide them with access to records from the coroner’s office, including the post-mortem autopsy report.
Eventually there will be an inquest, though that could take several years.
“We’re going to try to press the coroner to expedite things,” he said. “It’s not going to cost more or less to do it now or in six years time. But I’ve seen lots of inquests take years, which is very unfair.”
Charney said he thinks the way the situation was handled was “terrible,” and that he doesn’t think the SIU investigators are doing a good job in terms of how they communicate with families.
“The investigators themselves are mostly former police officers. They’re just not trained or capable (to have) good dealings with the families,” he said.
Dzikewich said the matter of Schofield’s death should be a huge community concern, “because it could happen to anyone.
“I never thought this would happen to our family in a million years, and now I‘ve learned that there’s a lot more cases out there. Something has to be done to prevent it. Everyone needs to stand together until there is change,” she said.
