No heartbeat, no pulse, paramedic testifies at inquest into death of Derek Whalen

A paramedic on the ambulance team that transported Derek James Whalen from theShediac detention centreto the Moncton Hospital testified Tuesday that Whalen showed no signs of life in the time he spent with him.

The coroner and an inquest juryhave heard from correctional officers at the Southeast Regional Correctional Centrewho said Whalen suddenly became violent andhad to be restrained beforehe became unresponsive.

Whalen,37,was pronounced dead the night of May 3, 2020, at the Moncton Hospital.

Testimony on Tuesday, the second day of the inquest, has focused on what happened after Whalen, who wasshackled at his wrists and ankles after an altercation,became unresponsive in a cell and9-1-1 was called.

'Never got aheartbeat back'

Steven Clavet,the primary care paramedic,testified that when he and his partnerarrived at the scene, they determined Whalen was undergoing cardiac arrest.

Clavetand his partner attempted CPR for 20 minutes before loading Whalen into the ambulance. Clavetsaid 20 minutes of CPR is the best practice for dealing with a cardiac arrest. But their attempts were unsuccessful.

"We had no signs of life, we had no heartbeat, no pulse," Clavetsaid.

Corey McLaughlin, an advanced care paramedic who can perform moremedical procedures and carries more medicine than a primary care paramedic, testified he became involved in Whalen'scase halfway between Shediac and Moncton. In what is known as an intercept, he left his ambulance and joined Clavet's.

McLaughlin testified he used a drill-like tool to injectepinephrine, also known as adrenalin, into Whalen's leg. This was unsuccessful, he said, and Whalen "never got aheartbeat back at any point."

Dr. Gary Duguay, the emergency room doctor who attended to Whalen, also testified.

He said he suspected Whalen'scardiac arrest may have been induced by trauma, but said could findno signthat was the case. Duguay said there was no trauma on Whalen's abdomen, chest or head.

Duguaysaidthat he made the decision to cease CPR efforts. He said after Whalen had undergone more than an hour of CPR from paramedics, there was no reasonable chance of survival.

Whalen said he couldn't breathe,nurse testifies

Kelly-Jo Bell, a registered nurse who watched correctional officers hold Whalen down, testified that Whalenrepeatedly said he couldn't breathe during the struggle, but that she observed his chest rising and falling and wasn't concerned for his breathing.

Bell said she left the scene briefly before being called back by a medical emergency announcement in the detention centre, which was made by officers after he was found unresponsive.

Bell testified that when she returned Whalen's face was blue. She said she asked guards to remove Whalen's handcuffs so CPR could begin.

Corrections training altered after incident

During Monday's testimony, correctional officer Sgt. Garlene Somerton said she would have responded differently to Whalen's violence if she was more aware of excited delirium,a state of confusion that can be brought on by stimulant drugs and cause violence toward objects and people. She said she thinks Whalen was showing signs of excited delirium on the day he died.

Somerton said she learned more about excited delirium in the years since Whalen's death, when training to become a use-of-force instructor herself.

On Tuesday, the chief superintendent of corrections, who oversees the five superintendents of detention facilities in New Brunswick, testified that excited delirium has become more of a focus in training.

Before the incident it was only touched on, Roland Ritchiesaid during his testimony.

Officers review use-of-force training yearly and responding to excited delirium now takes up about 10 minutes of the in-class training, he said.

Previously, Ritchie said, it was mentioned as part of taser use training, which not every officer would receive. Officers are now instructed to disengage and call for medical assistance if they suspect they're encountering excited delirium, Ritchie said.

The inquest continues on Wednesday.