The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

SURVEILLANCE footage from the Central Police Station’s cell block shows prisoners urging officers to get medical help for 60-year-old Hartman Dawkins as he repeatedly complained of feeling unwell — his condition deteriorating over multiple interactions before he was found dead in his cell.

An officer detailed the footage she observed on Friday. Her testimony was given during an inquest hearing before Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux, which examined the circumstances surrounding the death of Hartman Dawkins on January 22, 2023. Officers reportedly discovered him unresponsive in his cell during routine morning checks.

An officer previously testified that there was a six‑hour gap in Dawkins’s detention record between his last wellness check and the discovery of his body, describing such a lapse as “highly unusual.”

Sergeant Erica Roberts of the CCTV Monitoring Centre said that while reviewing the footage from the day of Dawkins’s incarceration, she noted that he first entered the cell block in handcuffs at 5.20pm on January 21 2023. She described the deceased as being clad in a dark blue long‑sleeved shirt, dark‑coloured long trousers and red & white tennis trainers. She said he was escorted by two uniformed officers, who placed him in cell #3.

Sgt Roberts at 10.50pm, an officer instructed Dawkins to clean his cell.

With the cell unlocked, Dawkins emerged to clean the surrounding area, and the footage captured him dragging a barrel while collecting garbage from various cells.

After being returned to his cell at 11.08pm, Sgt Roberts said she heard Dawkins telling an officer that he needed to go to the hospital to see a doctor, explaining that his chest was hurting.

At 11.26pm, Sgt Roberts observed an officer entering the cell block, during which other prisoners informed him that Dawkins required hospitalisation. When the officer enquired about his condition, Dawkins replied that he was vomiting. During this exchange, Sgt Roberts observed Dawkins vomiting again.

The officer then asked Dawkins his name and said he would check back on him later before leaving the cell block.

Sgt Roberts said that the officer returned at 11.31pm and once more asked Dawkins his name. After providing it, Dawkins was heard saying that he felt bad. The officer assured him that he would try to get a unit to take him to hospital.

At 1.26am, Sgt Roberts said she saw a male officer enter the cell block and ask Dawkins why he was sweating and if he was alright. She said the officer then opened the cell, and Dawkins stumbled out. In the footage, the officer asked Dawkins if he could walk and if he was alright, but Dawkins responded no.

Sgt Roberts observed Dawins lean against a hallway wall as if unable to support his own weight. The officer asked him if he could make it to the bathroom and whether he came to the station in that condition; Dawkins replied no to both questions. As Dawkins made his way towards the bathroom, Sgt Roberts heard him saying: “My pressure high man, that’s what happen.”

The officer then asked Dawkins if he had taken his pressure tablets, to which he responded yes. However, when the officer asked if there was anyone he could call to bring his tablets, Dawkins said no.

Sgt Roberts said that two officers assisted Dawkins to the bathroom.

While there, Dawkins requested water, and the footage shows the officers providing it. On his return to his cell, the officers continued to assist Dawkins, who was observed shaking uncontrollably and appearing disoriented, leaning on the wall for support.

After Dawkins finally returned to his cell and the officers left the cell block, Sgt Roberts said the footage captured him screaming: “Oh lord, oh lord” and “Oh lord, please help me.”

The following morning at 7.49am, Sgt Roberts observed an officer returning to the cell; the officer entered, realised something was wrong, and then left to retrieve a police sergeant who also entered the cell.

Dr Kiko Bridgewater, the forensic pathologist, testified that the cause of death was sudden cardiac death. He explained that Dawkins had an enlarged heart and suffered from atherosclerotic coronary artery disease with cardiomegaly, a condition involving the hardening and narrowing of the heart’s blood vessels. Dr Bridgewater performed Dawkins’s autopsy on January 30 2023, and Delton Fernander identified the deceased.

While Dr Bridgewater noted that Dawkins had a couple of abrasions on his body, including his lips, he said there were no significant external injuries or evidence of medical intervention. He also noted that Dawkins was found lying facedown while in police custody.

Angelo Whitfield served as the evidence marshal.