Winnipeg man allegedly assaulted by hospital security

A Winnipeg man is searching for answers, after he was taken to Winnipeg’s largest hospital for treatment, only to leave with more injuries than he had going in, alleging he was beaten by hospital security.

On the morning of January 18, Winnipeg’s Bobby Thomas was involved in a head-on collision on his way to work and was rushed to the nearby Health Sciences Centre by ambulance. Arriving at the hospital wearing a neck brace.

But after hours passed without receiving medical attention, Thomas decided it was time to seek help elsewhere. But as he attempted to leave one of the nurses objected.

Thomas then began to film the interaction, when he says a security guard approached and said he couldn’t record, asking him to leave the hospital. But as Thomas headed to the front lobby of the emergency area, the number of guards grew.

“Still standing there, got four of them still standing here for what?” he wondered.

Feeling threatened Thomas looked down for his phone to begin recording, which is when the interaction took a violent turn.

“That’s when I was grabbed from behind and thrown right up against that sensor door that was opening but it didn’t open fast enough cause I was being thrown at it,” he explained.

He said the confrontation moved outside where a group of about five guards allegedly piled on top of him and punched him in the head.

“I felt like one, two, like three or four hard punches and that’s when I yelled stop.”

When Thomas’s sister arrived at the Hospital, she found her brother handcuffed and suffering from a cheekbone fracture, concussion, and nerve damage.  Leaving her questioning, how the outcome could’ve been worse, had his injuries from the car accident been more severe.

“What if there was more and we didn’t see it and they hurt my brother, more than they already did,” said April Thomas, Bobby Thomas’ sister.

“They’re there to protect people, to protect people, nowhere does it say protect people by punching them out.”

Shared Health, says they are actively reviewing the incident, and are cooperating fully with the Winnipeg Police investigation.  Adding “We continue to work to provide culturally informed and culturally safe care to all patient populations. The HR review will also determine what further training measures may be required of our security team.”

But Thomas says since the incident he’s heard from hospital staff that their experience wasn’t an isolated incident, and hopes their story can help ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“They came to us and told us this happens far too often, and we thought maybe it’s just one nurse telling us this, but then the doctor that treated me told us that the story needs to be told.”