By Michael Morrah
An inquest has heard that Corrections staff acted unlawfully when they left convicted killer Antonie Dixon in waist restraints for more than 30 hours.
Dixon was restrained at Mt Eden Prison without prison bosses being notified, just days before he took his own life.
Video footage from February 4, 2009, just hours before it is believed he took his own life, shows Dixon naked and highly agitated in his cell at Auckland Prison's high-risk unit at Paremoremo.
But it was at Mt Eden prison in the days leading up to his death that he had become increasingly unstable.
“Initial observations were [of a] prisoner with a piece of torn rope loosely around his neck, with friction marks completely around the neck region and a cut to the right side of his mouth,” says Maureen Brown, Health Centre manager of Auckland Regional Prison. “He appeared as wild-eyed and paced around the doorway of his cell.”
After that observation was made Dixon was put into a waist restraint, which the court heard was only supposed to be used when transporting inmates.
"Mr Dixon spent over 30 hours in the waist restraints, that is not good,” says former manager of Mt Eden Prison Grace Smit. “That is not a reasonable amount of time."
The court heard not only was it not reasonable, it was illegal. But staff felt it was the best option because Dixon was continuing to self-harm by headbutting the prison wall.
The court heard that medical experts believed Dixon would have been better managed at a forensic mental health centre, but one of the reasons Dixon wasn't referred to the Mason Clinic was because it was completely full with no spare beds.
When Dixon was taken to Auckland Prison's at-risk unit he covered his prison camera with toilet paper. That wasn't cleared for five hours.
When the camera was cleared, Dixon was on the ground and staff were unsuccessfully trying to revive him.
He had been discovered by the only guard on duty, but he didn't enter the cell straight away, instead waiting for three others before going in.
“There was no way we were going to put any staff safety at risk,” says Brian Singh, former manager of the Auckland Prison (Paremoremo) at-risk unit.
Whether that was the right call is something the Coroner will consider in his recommendations.
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