In May 2020, 43-year-old Danielle Stephanie Warriner was in Toronto General Hospital. Danielle died following an incident involving two security guards. Danielle suffered from COPD and was in the hospital because she was experiencing a cough and shortness of breath. She was placed on a COVID floor, although she later tested negative. The following day, she left the floor in search of something to eat. She did not have her mask on and was approached by the two guards. A confrontation ensued, during which Danielle is said to have received injuries at the hands of the guards that would ultimately lead to her death. At the time, Warriner’s sister Denise told CTV News Toronto that as a result of the incident:
She suffered a deprivation of oxygen which then as a result she went into cardiac arrest, and of course then sustained deprivation of oxygen to her brain, she had a brain injury. One of the most painful things I could ever imagine in my life is to make the decision to remove my sister from life support.
Months went by in the investigation. In December, police arrested Amanda Rojas-Silva, 42, and Shane Hutley, 35. They were charged with “manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.” However, according to the CBC, a Canadian judge dismissed the charges against Rojas-Silva and Hutley for lack of evidence. At least some of that evidence is based on the security footage below.
You can clearly see at 17 seconds into the video that the camera shifts away from the struggle and the guards’ actions. One doctor tweeted:
🇨🇦 Stephanie Warriner died after being choked by security in a Toronto hospital for having her mask too low.
A security camera was purposely turned away as guards choked her.
An Ontario judge cleared the guards of manslaughter for “lack of evidence” 🤯pic.twitter.com/bkI4MmaeH2
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 17, 2023
A guard testified that he turned the camera away because he panicked and was “anxious.”
The video is not the only evidence. A forensic pathologist testified that Danielle would still be alive had she not been restrained.
After learning about the charges being dismissed, Denise told the CBC, “My first reaction was shock, horror. There’s been no accountability and there’s a gaping hole in my heart. She was a very tiny woman who was clearly unwell, sitting, dealing with respiratory distress and they wrangled her to her death. There was no lawful reason for them to have ever put hands on her. This ought to have been put to a trial.”
Now, the family has filed a $16 million lawsuit, naming Rojas-Silva and Shane Hutley as defendants. The suit also names the University Health Network, shift supervisor Andrew Li, as well as security guard James Rouse, who handcuffed Danielle while she was on the floor, and guard Kyle Bryson, who moved the security camera. The suit alleges recklessness and excessive use of force. It also states that Danielle’s death is a direct result of the guards’ actions and that Toronto General failed to contact them for 11 days after the incident. Lawyers for University Health Network, Rojas-Silva, Hutley, Li, Rouse, and Bryson all declined the opportunity to provide comments to the CBC.
The incident above demonstrates more than the dangers that came with the hype that surrounded COVID-19. The fact that the people involved in Danielle’s death were so quick to use force and that the judge blithely dismissed the case because of “lack of evidence” indicates that ambition, a fascination with power, and a disregard for human life, let alone freedom are continuing to be ingrained in people with any modicum of power in Canada. The example set by Justin Trudeau, as evidenced by his actions during the trucker protest, is being taken to heart by people even at the lower levels of power. And such corruption is almost impossible to excise.
