Paramedics charged in death of Hamilton teen to appear in court Oct. 9

An associate representing the lawyer of two Hamilton paramedics facing charges in connection with the death a teenager appeared briefly in court Tuesday morning.

Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Marchant, of Whitby, and 53-year-old Steven Snively, of Hamilton, are charged with failure to provide the necessaries of life in the death of 19-year-old Yosif Al-Hasnawi.

The case will be back in court on Oct. 9.

Al-Hasnawi was shot on Dec. 2, 2017 after he tried to help a stranger who was being accosted by two men steps away from his downtown mosque.

Witnesses say paramedics assessed Al-Hasnawi’s wound and kept reassuring bystanders the teen had only been shot by a pellet gun. Witnesses allege both police and paramedics claimed the teen was faking his injuries and believed he could stand up on his own.

Hamilton police confirmed there was a 38-minute delay between the ambulance’s arrival on scene and when the teen was brought to hospital.

Al-Hasnawi was pronounced dead at 9:58 p.m., 19 minutes after his arrival at St. Joseph’s hospital.

Al-Hasnawi’s family filed a $10-million lawsuit against St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton Paramedic Service, Hamilton Police Service Board, two EMS crew members, and two police constables claiming they failed to provide the appropriate care for the injured teen.

Dale King, the alleged shooter, and James Matheson are also named in the lawsuit. King has been charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday. Matheson was originally charged with being an accessory after the fact but that charge was withdrawn on Aug. 20. He is back in court on Oct. 30 for sentencing on a charge of obstruction of justice.

The Special Investigations Unit confirmed in August they are investigating the role a Hamilton police officer played the evening Al-Hasnawi died.