February 27, 2007
Craig Babstock, Canadaeast News Service

"Almost 18 months before Kevin Geldart died after being Tasered by police, he had an encounter with Codiac RCMP officers and a Taser, an inquest into the man's death heard Monday. It was the afternoon of Nov. 12, 2003, and Geldart was reported to the police after leaving The Moncton Hospital. Officers found him nearby, on MacBeath Avenue, and Const. Denis Hache approached him on the sidewalk. Hache had brought him to the hospital two years earlier at the request of his parents. He went to the Geldart home in neighbouring Riverview and spent more than an hour convincing the mentally ill man to go to the hospital. So when Hache approached Geldart on MacBeath, they were familiar with each other. Hache, supported by several other officers, said they were going to bring him back to the hospital, but Geldart refused. The six-foot-six, 360-pound Geldart sat down on the sidewalk. Hache warned he would use a Taser if he had to, but it didn't change Geldart's mind. Two officers approached, grabbing an arm each and lifting the large man up. Geldart stood, but then pushed the two Mounties away. One took out a baton and struck him on the back of the legs. Hache then shot him with the Taser. He expected Geldart to fall, stiffen or become incapacitated, but none of those things happened. The big man casually got down on his knees and lay on his stomach, allowing them to cuff him. Hache then walked him up the street to the hospital, because he wouldn't fit in the back of the patrol car. They talked about the Taser as they walked along. "He said shock therapy hurt more," Hache testified Monday at a coroner's inquest. "He said if he really wanted to, that little toy wouldn't stop him."

On the night of May 5, 2005, four officers were trying to subdue Geldart after the hospital's psychiatric unit reported he'd gone missing. He died after being Tasered several times. The officers testified Monday that the electrical shock seemed to have no effect on the man. "We were on the cusp of losing control of him," testified Const. Zane McLure. "It was a sick feeling because if he got control of us, we were done." The inquest began last Wednesday and continues all this week in Court of Queen's Bench. New Brunswick's chief coroner Dianne Kelly is presiding and Nicole Poirier of the Office of the Attorney General is serving as legal counsel. The inquest won't lay blame, but will clarify the facts and circumstances of the death. On Friday, a jury will make recommendations for preventing such deaths in the future.

On the opening day, Kelly said evidence would be heard that Geldart's death was blamed on excited elirium. An expert will testify about that later in the inquest. It's still not clear how many times Geldart was Tasered in 2005, with evidence indicating it could be anywhere from three times to a half dozen.

Geldart, 34, was brought to the hospital May 2, after suffering a psychotic episode. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depression, in his late teens and had spent time in the psych ward on different occasions. He had been in the locked portion of the ward on this visit, until he was transferred to the unlocked part of the unit the morning of May 5. He left the hospital that night for a cigarette and never came back, eventually showing up at the Right Spot bar. Staff called police because Geldart was acting strangely and talking to himself in the mirror. Three RCMP officers showed up and entered the bar, with a fourth arriving halfway through the encounter. Staff Sgt. Al Parker was the first Mountie through the door that night. The 30-year veteran, who retired from the force last month, told his two colleagues he would take the lead. "We get 500 to 600 of these calls a year," Parker testified, referring to cases involving mentally ill or suicidal individuals. "99.9999 per cent of the time, we talk to them and give them a drive back to the hospital." That's what he tried, but it didn't work.

The officers went to the back of the bar, Parker in the lead, followed by Const. Dominique Pharand and Const. Pierre-Luc Hache, who both had a year of service with the Mounties at the time. Police had been warned by the hospital Geldart could be dangerous and were also concerned because of earlier reports about his behaviour, so Parker told Hache to have his Taser ready. They found Geldart talking to himself in the mirror. Parker called him by his name and asked if they could give him a lift. "He turned around to face me and that's when I knew I was in trouble," he said. Geldart was breathing heavily, sweating profusely and his pupils were completely dilated. "I figured I'd tell it like it is and not baloney him."

Parker told him he had to go back to the hospital and asked him to put his hands on the pool table so they could search him. He put his hand on Geldart's shoulder. "He said, 'You put your hands on the table,' in a very slow and slurred way," said Parker. "That's when he shoved me out of the way." The staff sergeant thought the man was on drugs. He told the jury he's had many experiences dealing with intoxicated people and Geldart appeared to be on something. (Geldart was medicated while at the hospital.) Geldart then ran past the officers and vaulted over a short wall, landing on a table and falling to the floor. They caught up to him and made a semi-circle around him as he stood against a wall. Parker said Geldart got up and bolted at him, like a football player.

"He was halfway to me and I told Pierre-Luc to give it to him, let him have it," said Parker."