Ontario Review Board

Re: Omar Watson

ORB File No: 8690

Hearing held on: Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto

Pursuant to: Section 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Ms. M. Labrosse Members: Dr. P. Prendergast Dr. L.O. Lightfoot Ms. L. Banks Mr. A. Bouvier

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Omar Watson Counsel: Ms. N. Sandhu

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. S. Rosales-Zelaya

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated May 14, 2025)

Introduction

1. On November 5, 2024, Omar Watson was found not criminally responsible (“NCR”) on charges of assault with a weapon (x2), assault causing bodily harm, and utter threat contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. At the time of the NCR finding, the Honorable Court did not make a Disposition and referred the matter to the Ontario Review Board.

2. On March 25, 2025, the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, hereinafter referred to as “CAMH” and/or “the hospital”, to make an initial Disposition for Mr. Watson pursuant to s. 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Watson attended his hearing and was represented by counsel, Ms. N. Sandhu.

3. The following documents were entered as exhibits for the hearing:

4. Warrant of Committal

5. Disposition Hearing Outcome

6. CPIC Report

7. Local Record

8. Synopsis (x2)

9. Endorsed Information (x2)

10. Psychiatric Assessment Report dated September 16, 2024

11. Hospital Report dated March 17, 2025

12. The issues for this hearing are whether Mr. Watson poses a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, to determine the necessary and appropriate Disposition having regard to the factors set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

13. For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that Mr. Watson meets the threshold of significant threat to the safety of the public and that a detention order, with privileges up to and including indirectly supervised community passes, is the necessary and appropriate and least onerous and least restrictive Disposition in all of the circumstances.

Index Offences

6. The details of the index offences are extracted from pages 12 and 13 of the Hospital Report dated March 17, 2025:

“Synopsis 1

COUNT 1: Assault with a Weapon, section 267(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada COUNT 2: Assault with a Weapon, section 267(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada

On Sunday, December 17th, 2023, the complainant contacted police to report that two security guards were stabbed by a patient with a sharpened toothbrush.

Police attended Brampton Civic Hospital and spoke with the two victims, Jaskaran Gosal and Krish Sharma. Police discovered that at 6:30am, security received a call from the mental health ward to restrain the accused. Several security guards attended the mental health ward, in an attempt to restrain the accused. The security guards were aware that the suspect was in possession of a toothbrush, and a plan was made to safely restrain the suspect with minimal injury.

When security entered the room with the accused, the accused began to stab the two security guards with the toothbrush. Krish Sharma was stabbed in the left eye, causing swelling, his injuries are considered minor. Jaskaran Gosal was stabbed three to four times on his head causing an open wound on top his head. Jaskaran also sustained scratches to his face, his injuries are also considered minor. The victims received medical attention for their injuries.

On Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, police attended Brampton Civic Hospital located at 2100 Bovaird Drive, in the city of Brampton. At approximately 9:20pm, the accused was placed under arrest for two counts of assault with a weapon, section 267(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The accused was read his rights to counsel and caution of which he understood.

Synopsis 2

Charge: Assault Causing Bodily Harm Section: 267(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada

Incident:

On Friday April 19th, 2024, at 11: 10 am, Brampton Civic Hospital contacted police to report that a patient in Mental Health Ward Intensive Care unit has assaulted Registered Nurse, Tameka Setalsingh (1982-10-17), by stomping on her head. Security advised that the patient name will be Omar Watson with a date of birth of February 2nd, 1981. Security further advised that Omar is currently in Intensive unit under restraints.

At 2:50 pm, police spoke with Brampton Civic Hospital Security Guard to review the CCTV footage and observed the following:

• At 10:13:03 am Registered Nurse Tameka speaking to another staff and a patient and Omar Watson can be observed exiting his room (N-1-131). Upon exiting Omar immediately directed his attention towards Tameka and aggressively lunged towards her with his right hand clenched and in a ready position to throw a punch.

• At 10:13:05 am Omar made contact with Tameka with his right hand, punching her in the face, and resulting with her falling to the ground. As Tameka fell on to the ground, Omar was being held by another staff to separate the two parties.

• At 10:13:06 am, while Omar was being held, he can be observed stomping Tameka with his left foot once, directed towards her face while she was on the ground.

• At 10:13:15 am, Brampton Security guards arrived on scene and was able to restrain Omar and return him back to his room.

Police spoke with Dr. Charles Ohena-Darkoh (1970-06-14) and advised that he is the Doctor assigned to Omar and he will now be terminating Omar's stay in the Hospital. Dr. Charles Ohena-Darkoh further advised that Omar's level of aggression towards Brampton Civic Hospital staff can no longer be managed in a general hospital setting and recommends a high secure facility.

At 3:33 pm, Dr. Charles Ohena-Darkoh provided to police Omar's termination papers and release documents from the hospital.

At 3:43 am, police spoke with Tameka Setalsingh who advised that she was conducting her general duties as a Registered Nurse and was administering medications to her patients. Tameka further advised that Omar attacked her out of nowhere and stated that she was punched in the face approximately 2 times with a closed fist. Tameka then advised that after that, all that she could remember was falling to the ground with her nose bleeding and getting stomped in the face by Omar.

The victim suffered heavy loss of blood resulting to her feeling light headed and a concussion.

Police were directed by Security towards Omar's room, and made positive ID from mugshot from previous occurrences. At 4:24 pm, the accused, Omar Watson was arrested for Assault Causing Bodily Harm, subsequently read his rights to counsel to which he indicated that he understood, and held for bail.

The following information was extracted from NCR Report authored by Dr. M Pearce dated September 16 2024; unless otherwise indicated.”

Background History

7. Mr. Watson's personal, legal, and psychiatric background are set out in detail in the Hospital Report dated March 17, 2025. Briefly summarized, Mr. Watson is 44 years of age and was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He was raised by his biological parents and also spent time with both of his grandmothers who lived nearby. Mr. Watson immigrated to New York at the age of 16 or so to live with his father and stayed there a couple of years before immigrating to Toronto at the age of 18. Mr. Watson's parents were never married and they separated when he was a toddler. Mr. Watson has three half-sisters and four half-brothers, and he is the second eldest on both sides.

8. Mr. Watson studied in New York for a couple of years and then returned to Jamaica to obtain his high school diploma. When he moved to Canada, he did not resume any studies. Mr. Watson enrolled in an automotive training centre in 2010 or 2011 and was a student there for approximately half a year. He was briefly employed as a mechanic at a Canadian Tire but then obtained permanent work elsewhere as a forklift operator.

Criminal History

9. Mr. Watson reported that he does not have a criminal record as confirmed by the CPIC Report, however, records suggest that he incurred a charge of assault in 2007 and charges of theft, robbery and fail to appear in 2008.

Psychiatric History

10. Mr. Watson's first contact with mental health services reportedly occurred at the age of 21. The Hospital Report sets out a rather lengthy history of admissions to hospital for psychiatric care including his last admission to the Brampton Civic Hospital in March and April of 2024 where the second set of charges occurred.

11. Mr. Watson's current diagnoses are Schizophrenia and Cannabis Use Disorder.

Evidence at the Hearing

12. The hospital's evidence was presented through the Hospital Reports and through the oral testimony of Dr. A. Ali, who has been Mr. Watson's treating psychiatrist on the Forensic Assessment Treatment Unit of CAMH.

13. Dr. Ali adopted the contents of the Hospital Report and advised that there were no material updates to provide.

14. Dr. Ali describes Mr. Watson's insight into his illness, the index offences, the need for medication and the need to abstain from substances as quite limited. Significant improvement in Mr. Watson's insight is needed. This will be addressed primarily through psychoeducational group programming. Mr. Watson remains on the FATU of the hospital where he does not have any privileges. Once the Board issues a Disposition, Mr. Watson will be put on a list for transfer to a secure forensic unit where he will start to receive some privileges.

15. Mr. Watson does not currently have any housing in the community and is likely to require supportive housing, in the opinion of Dr. Ali. This will be part of an eventual discharge plan that will be elaborated once Mr. Watson is deemed ready for discharge.

16. Dr. Ali states that Mr. Watson is currently compliant with treatment but that this compliance is externally motivated. He has stated that he does not believe that he would experience a recurrence of symptoms if he was to stop taking medication. He has also stated that he will take the medications if they are prescribed to him.

17. Mr. Watson is currently receiving a long-acting injectable antipsychotic (paliperidone 150 mg every four weeks) and an oral antipsychotic (zuclopenthixol 20 mg at night). Dr. Ali believes that because of the long-acting injectable, it would likely take some time for Mr. Watson to decompensate if he was to stop taking medication. Dr. Ali also believes that Mr. Watson is optimally treated at this time.

18. In the opinion of Dr. Ali, Mr. Watson is marginally capable of consenting to treatment at this time such that the Box B criteria of the Mental Health Act would not be available to effect an admission to hospital if needed.

19. The hospital does not believe that it is realistic that Mr. Watson would be ready to be discharged over the course of the next 12 months. There is much insight improvement needed as well as psychoeducational counseling for him to understand the effects of cannabis on his mental health and it will likely take some time before he is ready to be considered for discharge. As well, it will take some time for him to progress through the privilege ladder to demonstrate his ability to use increasingly liberal privileges while remaining compliant and abstinent.

20. Dr. Ali added that Mr. Watson has completed a group on the FATU called the Forensic System Group, but that he does not appear to have grasped much from this program which aims to inform patients about the ORB and forensic system.

21. In response to questions posed to her by counsel for the Attorney General, Mr. Feindel, Dr. Ali responded as follows:

a) She acknowledged that Mr. Watson has a considerable history of psychotic episodes. The current diagnosis is schizophrenia, as the treatment team has not observed any mood component to the illness. Mr. Watson has been responsive to treatment and is currently not experiencing any psychotic symptoms or disorganization.

b) Dr. Ali acknowledged that there has been a pattern of repeated involuntary admissions to hospital, poor follow-up and noncompliance with treatment. As well, there was a pattern of drug use in the community which had the effect of intensifying his symptoms of psychosis. She confirmed that Mr. Watson was placed on a CTO back in 2010 though she does not have the details. Mr. Watson was also involved with the Venture Program at CAMH in and around 2007 and 2008 but that he then fell away from services and his case was closed.

c) Mr. Watson has family support in the area and his uncle was present for the ORB hearing. He also has a cousin and though the hospital social worker has been trying to contact his mother for some time she only recently came to visit Mr. Watson in the hospital this past weekend for the first time. Mr. Watson also says that he has a fiancé and though the treatment team have attempted to contact her they have not been successful to date.

d) Dr. Ali is not aware if there is any opportunity for housing to be offered by family members but in her opinion, Mr. Watson will likely need some sort of supporting housing when he is ready for discharge. It is not yet clear what level of supports he will need.

e) Finally, Dr. Ali stated that according to Mr. Watson's records it appears that cannabis has played a role in his mental decompensation and that the treatment team is recommending that he abstain from cannabis and all other substances and there is an intention for him to be offered programming to deal with his substance use.

22. In response to questions posed to her by counsel for Mr. Watson, Ms. Sandhu, Dr. Ali responded as follows:

a) Dr. Ali has seen Mr. Watson at least once per week and up to a maximum of two to three times per week since his admission on January 21, 2025.

b) Mr. Watson has been cooperative and compliant with what is being asked of him, including taking treatment. Dr. Ali believes that his treatment is currently optimized. The treatment team is not anticipating any additional medications at this time.

c) Though the treatment team is not recommending the addition of community living to the Disposition, if Mr. Watson was to progress quickly and be deemed ready for community living, the hospital could request an early hearing and in that case Dr. Ali agreed that approved accommodation would be sufficient rather than supervised accommodation.

d) With respect to Mr. Watson's fiancé, Dr. Ali indicated that it is not clear what kind of level of support this person provides for Mr. Watson, as the treatment team has been unable to contact her. Dr. Ali is not aware of how long Mr. Watson and his fiancé have been together.

e) Dr. Ali acknowledged that Mr. Watson has so far not demonstrated any psychopathic traits, nor has he been diagnosed with a personality disorder.

f) Dr. Ali confirmed that the hospital is not recommending community living at this time and that Mr. Watson needs an opportunity to develop further insight on a number of issues, in addition to the fact that he will likely need supportive housing.

g) Dr. Ali was asked how long it would take to assess the level of support that Mr. Watson may need in the community and responded that this will depend on how he does once he is eligible for passes and privileges. According to Dr. Ali, it takes about nine months to go up the pass ladder at the rate of one month per level.

h) Finally, with respect to the diagnosis for cannabis use disorder, Dr. Ali confirmed that this was arrived at having reviewed the collateral reports, including documents that show that cannabis use has impacted Mr. Watson's mental health, and that Mr. Watson has been assessed by Dr. Ali, based on the historical information and the assessment with the psychologist.

23. In response to questions posed to her by members of the panel, Dr. Ali responded as follows:

a) Dr. Ali confirmed that Mr. Watson will remain on the assessment unit until he gets a Disposition at which time he will be placed on a transfer list to a secure unit which could happen in approximately three months. Dr. Ali said that it is possible that Mr. Watson could progress enough to the point of being ready for discharge over the course of the next 12 months, however, he has demonstrated very little change in his insight and understanding of his situation to date. In preparation for this hearing, the team did not feel that it was appropriate to include community living.

b) Dr. Ali believes that it could be a detractor to include a community living provision in the Disposition, however, she was not able to identify any specific criminogenic factors that could increase Mr. Watson’s risk, if community living was added. The doctor stated that Mr. Watson has frequently requested to leave the hospital. If community living were included in his disposition, she speculated that he would be less likely to engage in treatment and rehabilitation.

c) Dr. Ali confirmed that Mr. Watson's last two admissions to hospital were when the index offences occurred. When asked about these incidents, Mr. Watson has externalized blame to others and has limited insight into the incidents. Mr. Watson presents with a psychological profile of where he is very defensive, and his responses tend to reflect his lack of insight. There is also positive impression management in the way that he responds.

d) Mr. Watson's own stated housing plan is to be discharged from hospital, rent a place and live in the community.

e) Dr. Ali acknowledged that she has not had an opportunity so far to make any inquiries regarding the charges in 2007 and 2008 which apparently were withdrawn. Dr. Ali believes that this may have led to the CTO, but she has not yet had an opportunity to make any further inquiries.

f) Dr. Ali acknowledged that Mr. Watson appears to have been quite ill at the time of the index offences and that the assaults were unprovoked, unpredictable and very violent. Mr. Watson remains dismissive of his actions and despite being stable and not experiencing any psychosis, he does not have any real insight into the role that he played and the impact of his mental illness. Mr. Watson has not expressed any remorse with respect to those incidents.

g) Finally, Dr. Ali believes that Mr. Watson currently presents a low to moderate risk of violence in the hospital. She commented that she would assess his risk of physical harm, if living in the community as “high”.

24. No other evidence was presented.

Submissions of the Parties

25. The hospital submits that Mr. Watson meets the threshold for significant threat to the safety of the public and that a detention order without community living is the necessary and appropriate disposition given that at this time Mr. Watson requires a higher degree of support and supervision and that he so far has demonstrated little to no insight in most aspects of his situation. Mr. Watson is externally motivated to comply with treatment and needs an opportunity to develop more insight which will hopefully happen when he participates in programming that will be available to him once he is transferred to the secure unit of the hospital. Mr. Watson does not have housing at this time, and it is not clear what level of support he will require. Accordingly, the hospital believes that community living is not realistic at this time and should not be included in the Disposition.

26. Counsel for the Attorney General, Mr. Feindel, indicated that he adopts the recommendation of the hospital. Mr. Feindel added that Mr. Watson's case is complicated; that there is a history of violence and falling away from treatment as well as noncompliance. None of Mr. Watson's many admissions to hospital have led to any long-term treatment. Mr. Feindel also noted that there is a gap between 2010 and 2019 during which period Mr. Watson did not have significant contacts with the mental health system. With respect to community living, given the uncertainty regarding what Mr. Watson may require and the likelihood that this is not a consideration until the end of the next reporting period, the Board should not guess as to what Mr. Watson’s community living needs might be. Of course, it will be open to request an early hearing if Mr. Watson's clinical picture changes significantly.

27. Counsel for Mr. Watson, Ms. Sandhu, ultimately did not dispute the issue of significant threat but submitted that a conditional discharge should be granted to Mr. Watson given his significant progress and stabilization since the index offences. Ms. Sandhu further submits that a structured conditional discharge would be adequate to manage the risk; that Mr. Watson does not have a prior criminal record and that his mental health stability and compliance have significantly increased since being in hospital. Mr. Watson remains hopeful about his future and has previously been a productive member of society. In conclusion, counsel for Mr. Watson recommends a conditional discharge, and in the alternative, a detention order with community living in approved accommodation.

Analysis and Conclusion

28. Having considered all of the evidence presented at the hearing and the submissions of the parties, the Board finds that Mr. Watson meets the threshold of significant threat to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code of Canada and as further defined by the Supreme Court of Canada in Winko v British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.

29. Mr. Watson has long history of psychiatric instability. Despite many admissions to hospital, none appear to have resulted in any long-term commitment to treatment. There is some evidence of violent offending in the past, but more information is needed to clarify the circumstances of the charges in 2007 and 2008. It would also be important for the hospital to address the gap in Mr. Watson’s psychiatric history between 2010 and 2019, in order to have a more complete record.

30. Mr. Watson has responded well to treatment and is currently stable but he appears to have significant deficits in insight at all levels. He has no insight into the index offences and into his mental illness and the need for long-term treatment nor does he appreciate his risk of violence as he tends to externalize blame to others.

31. The index offences occurred in the context of admissions to hospital when Mr. Watson was quite psychotic. The offences were against mental health staff in hospital and were very violent and unpredictable.

32. Much work is needed before Mr. Watson can be considered ready for discharge and that is unlikely to happen over the course of the next year. It is very early in Mr. Watson's treatment, and he currently has no community living prospects. Should he progress at an unexpected rate and be ready for discharge within the next 12 months, an early hearing can be called if his progress exceeds current expectations.

33. Having considered the four factors set out in 672.54 of the Criminal Code, namely the protection of the public as the paramount consideration, the mental condition of the accused, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the Board finds that a detention order including privileges up to and including indirectly supervised community access is the necessary and appropriate and least onerous and least restrictive Disposition in all the circumstances. It shall include non-contact provisions for the three victims of the index offences, as well as conditions that Mr. Watson abstain absolutely from substance use and that he submit to random testing for substances.

DATED this 14th day of May, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Ms. M. Labrosse Alternate Chairperson

__________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board