Access Downtown’s Primary Care Clinic on Main Street.
Earlier this week, while waiting for a medical appointment at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Access Primary Care Clinic at 640 Main Street at Logan Avenue, I saw a security guard trying to remove two homeless people from the medical centre.
I snapped a photo of the incident with my cell phone. The receptionist, who saw me take the picture, reported this to security.
A guard came over to talk to me. He wanted me to go to another area of the building. I refused. He repeated his demand a few times and I refused each time.
The guard then managed to force me into a foyer. I didn’t go willingly. He was preparing to escort me from the building. I told him I had an appointment. Another security guard confirmed this with the front desk and I was allowed to return to the waiting room.
A few minutes later, two security guards approached me and asked to see the pictures on my cell phone. They demanded I erase the photos in question. Feeling pressured by two guards towering over me, I deleted the photos.
One of the security guards took my phone and then said he noticed I had posted a picture of the incident on Facebook. I tried to take my cell phone back, but both security guards were grabbing at it. During the scuffle, I was knocked over and I hit my head against the wall.
I was lifted up to my feet by the supervisor security guard while I saw the other guards walking away with my phone. I was allowed back into the waiting room again but this time without my cell phone.
I was scared. My head hurt. I went to use the public phone in the waiting room and I called the community centre where I used to work. I asked a worker there to come and get me.
When I went back to the foyer, the supervisor security guard followed me there and asked me to leave. He also said I was not to come back and that my file would be sent elsewhere.
I exited the building, walked around the corner and then began to run. I was picked up by my friend and taken to the community centre. That is where I passed out and was then taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Hospital bracelet from my visit to HSC this week. PHOTO: Vivian Ketchum
I spent 11 hours of in the emergency department at Health Sciences Centre, which included a CT scan of my head and x-rays of my left shoulder. I was told by the doctor that I had a slight concussion and a sprained left shoulder.
Two Winnipeg police officers took my statement at the hospital. They then went to retrieve my cell phone from the security guards at the Access Primary Care Clinic.
When the officers returned with my cell phone, they said they had seen the security video footage of my confrontation with the security guards. The police officers told me they did not see any evidence of an assault when they viewed the security footage, even though they could see me struggling with the two security guards and could see me falling.
They also told me Access Primary Care Clinic wanted me to reschedule my appointment.
The next day, I did several media interviews describing what had happened.
Winnipeg Police say they are now investigating the incident and that no charges have been laid at this point. The WRHA says it is reviewing the security footage of the incident and are working with police.
