Inquest hears blood spotted on face of Offaly man who died after being restrained in prison

by Seán McCárthaigh

An inquest into the death of an Offaly man shortly after he had been physically restrained in Cloverhill Prison six years ago has heard blood was spotted on his face by a prison officer during the incident.

Ivan Rosney (36), a father of four from St Cynoc’s Terrace, Ferbane, died on September 28, 2020 at Tallaght University Hospital where he had been brought after becoming unwell while being carried face down with a spit hood over his face in Cloverhill.

The incident occurred as prison staff were attempting to return Mr Rosney to his cell after he resisted being brought to a booth on the ground floor of the prison for a court appearance via video-link.

Mr Rosney had been remanded to prison a few days earlier after he was arrested following an incident in his father’s house when he became physically aggressive.

The inquest heard the deceased had a history of mental health problems although he had not been diagnosed with any specific condition at the time of his death.

The jury of four men and four women were also informed that Mr Rosney, who was morbidly obese, was detained on D2 landing in Cloverhill which was designated for housing vulnerable prisoners.

On the second day of the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, a prison officer, John Doorly, gave evidence that he noticed a small bit of blood around Mr Rosney’s nose as he was being physically restrained on the ground near a stairwell.

Mr Doorly, who was supporting the deceased’s head, said he felt something a short time later before discovering the prisoner’s face was blue and Mr Rosney was placed on the floor of D2 landing and medical assistance was sought.

Asked by counsel for the Rosney family, Gabriel Gavigan SC, if the sight of blood had not “set off a red flag,” Mr Doorly replied that it was “only a slight” bit of blood.

The prison officer said both prisoners and prison officers could suffer superficial cuts during struggles.

Mr Doorly said he accepted in hindsight that Mr Rosney had shown signs of distress while being restrained when he was grunting and breathing heavily.

The jury had already been shown a total of 28 minutes of CCTV footage from within Cloverhill Prison which showed Mr Rosney being escorted from his cell by two prison officers holding onto his arms at around 10.43am.

The prisoner’s first sign of resistance was recorded about two minutes later when he appeared to drop face forward to the ground in a circle area on the ground floor of the prison.

Evidence was heard that he had grabbed onto bars a short time earlier at a location not captured on camera.

The video evidence showed prison staff wearing full personal protective equipment because of the Covid-19 pandemic lifting Mr Rosney up and carrying him face down after two minutes.

He was also recorded again being on the ground a short time later at the bottom of a stairwell as he was being returned to his cell on the first floor.

CCTV footage captured him arriving on the D2 landing in Cloverhill at 10.58am when up to six prison officers were carrying him.

Evidence was heard that a prison officer had immediately commenced chest compression as several staff had noticed that his face had turned blue.

Assistant chief officer (ACO), Katherine Bogue, who was charged with arranging Mr Rosney being moved for his court hearing, told the inquest that she had brought more prison officers to accompany her than normal.

Ms Bogue explained it was because there had been an incident the previous evening involving the deceased when he tried to assault someone as well as the fact that Mr Rosney was a vulnerable prisoner.

She told the coroner, Myra Cullinane, that the transfer was not considered a planned removal as that would have required authorisation by a more senior officer.

Ms Bogue said a work training officer, Andy Byrne, took over the situation from her after Mr Rosney had become non-compliant because of his experience with control and restraint procedures.

Another ACO, Charlie Mitchell, who was present but not directly involved in the restraint of the prisoner, said Mr Rosney had been handcuffed behind his back.

Mr Mitchell said he heard someone say that the prisoner was trying to bite prison officers which had resulted in the spit hood being placed on him.

The witness said he also heard someone saying at one stage that Mr Rosney had banged his head.

Mr Mitchell said he was satisfied “at all times” with the methods of restraint being used to control the prisoner.

He added he was shocked to see Mr Rosney had become unresponsive and required medical attention.

In reply to questions from Mr Gavigan, Mr Mitchell accepted that it was not normal for prisoners to be carried in a prone position.

On the opening day of the inquest on Tuesday, Ivan Rosney’s father, Des, told the inquest that he had welcomed his son’s detention because he believed he would get the treatment he needed for his mental health.

Mr Rosney gave evidence at the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court of formally identifying his son’s body to gardaí at the mortuary in TUH.

Mr Rosney said he had last seen his son, who lived at home with him and his other child, Demi, six days earlier when he was arrested by gardaí.

He told the hearing that Ivan had a history of mental health illness.

Although Mr Rosney believed his son had been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder, the inquest heard he had never been formally diagnosed with any specific condition.

Asked by the family’s barrister, Gabriel Gavigan SC, how mental health issues affected his son, Mr Rosney said it was “hard to explain.”

He said Ivan would be “up and down” and would be “in a hyper mood” when on a high.

The inquest heard that the deceased had been in prison once before between November 2018 and March 2019 after he had become “a bit aggressive” at home by throwing a block at his family’s front door for which he was sentenced to five months in prison.

“He was a danger to himself more than anything else,” said his father.

Mr Rosney welcomed how his son had got psychiatric help during his first time in prison which had resulted in Ivan being “as perfect as he could be.”

The witness acknowledged he became nervous when his son got angry which is why he had called gardaí in September 2020,

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” he added.

Mr Rosney confirmed that there had been no need for gardaí to restrain his son on that occasion.

He said everyone had agreed about him being taken to Cloverhill Prison and he believed his son would get the mental health treatment he needed.

The inquest heard the deceased had been discharged from receiving psychiatric treatment in the month before he died due to his failure to attend appointments.

The full inquest originally opened in March but was adjourned to check if further CCTV footage of the fatal incident was available after legal representatives of the Irish Prison Service expressed concern that further video imagery existed which was not scheduled to be shown in evidence compiled by An Garda Síochána.

However, it was subsequently determined that no such footage had been found following a review.

Superintendent Niamh Molloy told the inquest that some parts of the prison were not covered by cameras including part of the stairwell and an area where Mr Rosney had held onto bars.

A consultant psychiatrist with the HSE’s National Forensic Mental Health Service who reviewed Mr Rosney’s medical records, Conor O’Neill, said he had been housed on a landing for potentially vulnerable prisoners because of his mental health issues.

The inquest heard he had been seen by a prison doctor on September 24, 2020, when he was found to have no acute medical problems.

Mr Rosney was also assessed by a psychiatrist in Cloverhill the following day when he outlined how he had been homeless for a while as well as also caring for his sister who had special needs.

His appearance was noted at the time as being “dishevelled and unkempt” but was “alert and oriented” with his mood “mildly elated.”

Prof O’Neill said the prison psychiatric staff had recorded how the deceased had and long-standing belief that he had been choked to death while he was in hospital in Portlaoise as well as believing that there had been a contract out on his life by gangland criminals.

The witness said a decision was taken to recommence Mr Rosney on an anti-psychotic medicine, Olanzapine, although on a lower dosage.

There was also a suspicion that he might have experienced drug-induced psychosis.

In reply to questions from Mr Gavigan, Prof O’Neill acknowledged the prisoner’s body mass index would have had him classified as morbidly obese.

Asked if the sudden recommencement of the medication might have contributed to Mr Rosney’s aggression, the psychiatrist said he believed it was likely to have had the opposite effect.

Prof O’Neill said it could be assumed that prison staff would know any prisoner held on D2 landing could be considered vulnerable.

Evidence was also heard from a number of prisoner officers involved in the incident who described how Mr Rosney was reluctant to leave his cell but had remained calm.

They told the hearing that the prisoner first became “non-compliant” when he grabbed onto bars as he was being led to a room for his court appearance.

Some witnesses recalled being aware there had been an incident the previous day with Mr Rosney when he had become aggressive.

Prison staff also confirmed they had received training in “control and restraint” methods.

Mr Gavigan told the hearing that a manual on restraint procedures used by the Irish Prison Service directed that prisoners should never be carried in the prone (face down) position.

Several prison staff recalled having difficulty seeing what was going on because the goggles being worn as PPE were getting fogged up.

One prison officer, Brian Keogh, said he heard Mr Rosney “kind of grunting” while he was being carried on the stairs.

However, he could not recall receiving any instruction to check on the prisoner, while he confirmed no medical staff were present at that time.

Some described seeing how Mr Rosney’s face was blue after the spit hood was removed after which a senior officer started commencing chest compressions on him.

The inquest was adjourned today (Wednesday) and will resume on Thursday when it is expected to conclude