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Students who watched the struggle between the guard and a campus intruder drew comparisons to George Floyd
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A security guard at Trinity Western University has been found guilty of manslaughter after putting a campus intruder in a chokehold that led to his death several days later.
Jack Cruthers Hutchison was working security for TWU in Langley during the COVID-19 lockdown on Sept. 30, 2020, when he was alerted to a tall man dressed in black reportedly rifling through dorms and stoking students’ concerns for their safety.
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It was later established that the man was Howard Hill and that he was not authorized to be in the student residences during the pandemic lockdown. At the time, most classes were online and buildings were mostly locked.
“Some students were concerned for their safety. Others were concerned for their belongings,” said B.C. Supreme Court Judge Catherine Murray in an oral decision posted online Monday.
Responding to multiple calls, Hutchison, the only security guard on campus, saw Hill walking away from Robson Hall, the last place Hill had been reported to be.
Hill turned to look at Hutchison then took off running, with Hutchison giving chase. Hutchison tackled Hill on a campus field and they struggled. Hill hit Hutchison, spat on him and threatened to kill him, according to student witnesses.
While waiting for police to arrive, Hutchison held Hill in a neck restraint and, by the time officers got there, Hill was unconscious. He died in hospital a couple of days later only minutes after being taken off life support.
Hutchison contends he was acting in self-defence and that the deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances. He also claims the fatal injury was an accident and that he didn’t know he was exerting pressure on a critical artery.
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Hutchison, who was 51 at the time, was just over 5-foot-4, weighed 150 pounds and was physically fit. Hill was 30, over 6-foot-3 and weighed 194 pounds. He had schizophrenia and had been off his medications for about five months.
Students reported Hill walking through dorms, “mumbling and talking to himself,” according to the decision. “It looked like he was scanning the residences (as he) rummaged through some rooms.” Students in residence asked him to leave, believing he was dealing with a mental illness or might be on alcohol or drugs.
As the two men ran across campus, Hill pivoted on a field and ran toward a female student standing alone in the parking lot. That’s when Hutchison tackled Hill, ending up on top of him, leaning on his right elbow with his right arm around the back of Hill’s neck in a headlock. Hutchison’s right hand was locked with his left.
The female student took a few seconds of video at the time, shortly before 3 p.m.
“Mr. Hill was flailing his arms and legs, yelling and swinging at Mr. Hutchison’s head,” said the judgment. “He hit Mr. Hutchison’s head a couple of times with an open hand and closed fist. He pulled Mr. Hutchison’s hair and tried to head-butt him. He was swearing at Mr. Hutchison. Mr. Hill was moving his legs in an effort to kick or knee Mr. Hutchison. He spat on Mr. Hutchison. Mr. Hutchison punched Mr. Hill in the nose three to four times in groups of three punches. Mr. Hill’s nose was bleeding.”
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Another student approached and asked Hutchison if he needed help; Hutchison asked the student to call 911 and tell police to come quickly. A second student who was a director of the dorm also asked if he could help and Hutchison got him to sit on Hill’s legs while holding Hill’s ankles. Hill continued to struggle.
At some point before police got there, the student realized Hill was no longer resisting and got off him, while still holding his legs. He asked Hutchison if he was making sure Hill was still breathing.
The student “explained that he asked this as the George Floyd incident had happened a couple of months prior and he was thinking about it.” Hutchison told him he was and the student saw Hill’s stomach going up and down like regular breathing.
When the first Langley RCMP officer arrived, Hutchison was still on top of Hill, holding him in a headlock. When he went to arrest Hill, the Mountie “found that Mr. Hill’s arm was limp.” He looked into Hill’s face which he said had “an unconscious look to it,” with his left eye partly open “staring vacantly.”
The officer started CPR and administered naloxone in case Hill was having an overdose. Paramedics took over CPR and Hill was put on life support at Royal Columbian Hospital, where he died on Oct. 2, 2020.
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The security guard suffered a fractured rib during the struggle.
The judge ruled that, while Hutchison did not intend to kill Hill, his actions were unlawful, the force became unreasonable and judged Hutchison guilty of manslaughter.
Hutchison testified that “he was acting to protect himself and others,” and that when he saw Hill running at the female student he thought Hill was going to hurt her and had to be stopped.
The judge agreed the force exerted during the fight with Hill was reasonable and was in defence of both himself and TWU students.
“However, as time went on, the nature of the incident changed,” said Murray. Several witnesses reported telling Hill that Hutchison was no longer moving and could not breathe.
“At some point, it was clear that Mr. Hill was no longer a threat to anyone. Therefore, I cannot accept that there continued to be reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Hill was using force or threatening force against Mr. Hutchison or others once he stopped moving.”
The judge said although Hutchison was smaller and older than Hill, he was also trained in martial arts and as a security guard.
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“It took police about 11 to 13 minutes to get to where Mr. Hutchison and Mr. Hill were … I must consider the reasonableness of Mr. Hutchison’s actions over that whole time period. In this instance, what was reasonable at the beginning may not have been reasonable as time went on,” according to the ruling.
“The issue really boils down to the headlock and whether its use remained objectively reasonable in the circumstances as time went on, or whether it became disproportional to the threat.”
Hutchison, who acknowledges he had martial arts training including jiu-jitsu chokeholds, “was aware that restraining someone by the neck was dangerous and testified that he maintained an airway for Mr. Hill while restraining him.”
The judge rejected Hutchison’s contention that he eased off pressure and that Hill suddenly lost consciousness as police arrived. Several students reported Hill had stopped moving some five or six minutes after being taken to the ground.
“While Mr. Hutchison’s actions are not to be judged by a standard of perfection, a reasonable person in these circumstances … would make sure that Mr. Hill was not being grievously injured while restraining him in (a) potentially dangerous hold. Eleven to 13 minutes is a long time to have someone in a neck impingement.”
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Murray said Hutchison’s level of force became excessive once Hill was clearly no longer a threat.
“I accept that Mr. Hutchison did not intend to hurt Mr. Hill and that he certainly did not intend to cause his death. However, that is not the legal test. The question is whether restraining Mr. Hill in a headlock for a prolonged period of time was reasonable in all of the circumstances.
“I find that it was not.”
An autopsy found that Hill’s death was caused by “asphyxia due to fatal pressure on the neck due to physical restraint” and ruled out the possibility that opioids found in toxicology tests of Hill’s urine contributed to his death.
jruttle@postmedia.com
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