‘My husband didn’t want to die’

Death of Charlottetown man at Province House could have been avoided, says family

Editor's note: The following story contains mental health content that may act as a trigger for some readers.

Tyler Knockwood was a loving father, an avid sports fan and an allaround family man. Described as a strong-yetgentle giant, those who were close to Tyler said he was the type of guy who would lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it.

However, in his final days of life, when Tyler turned to police and medical officials for help, no assistance came. His family said that lack of critical support ultimately led to him taking his own life.

“I just can’t help but feel that he should still be here today,” Laura Knockwood, Tyler’s wife, said on Friday, Jan. 26, as she sat next to a collection of his items, including several framed photos, his favourite pair of basketball shoes and an urn containing his ashes, in her living room. “This didn’t need to happen. My husband didn’t want to die.”

UPS AND DOWNS

Tyler, a 34-year-old Indigenous man, lived in Charlottetown with Laura and their two children.

He was a man of passion — he had been working as a carpenter and stone mason at Province House National Historic Site for a number of years, said Laura, something he was immensely proud of.

“Province House was, next to home, the most special place to Tyler,” she said. “He’s put his heart and soul into there. He just recently donated an eagle feather to Parks Canada to be encased in the wall when it reopens. He did a smudge ceremony with them. It was a safe place for him.”

Outside of his work, Tyler was quirky, always striving to be the life of the party, but was also quick to share his love with those around him, said Laura. That love extended to everyone whom he felt mattered, whether family or friend.

“I was a single mom, I had my own four kids, and Tyler did anything and everything for my kids,” said Michelle MacArthur, Tyler’s sister-inlaw, as she sat next to Laura.

“He was a mentor for my kids. My son turns 18 in a few days, and a couple of weeks ago Tyler said to me, ‘I guess it's time I had the talk with him.’ He was basically like his dad; he was like everybody’s dad.”

But like many in P.E.I., Tyler struggled with mental illness and addiction issues, battling, often alone, to overcome his internal challenges.

“He did fight his mental illness for many years,” said Laura. “For Tyler, there was a stigma around getting a diagnosis. It always worried him. Even though he struggled, he was happy. He was a happy person.”

THE FIRST CALL FOR HELP

Three years ago, Tyler entered what Laura described as a psychotic break and was admitted into mental health care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown.

However, at that time, the hospital deemed the incident as a drug-induced event and eventually released him without any sort of support plan or mental health assistance, said Laura.

That is when Tyler first showed signs that something was not right, she said.

“I did see a change in Tyler from that point in time. He just seemed a little dimmer. He still had bouts of extreme happiness, but he just seemed to be a bit quieter from that point.

“He wasn’t like looking out windows or acting out to an extreme. Nothing like that last weekend. It was certainly nothing concerning enough for someone to bring it up.”

Laura said despite this newfound paranoia, Tyler did not have any similar incidents since then, until recently.

A SUDDEN CHANGE

On Jan. 12, Laura explained that when Tyler came home from work, he seemed scared and overly paranoid and began accusing her of trying to poison and manipulate him. Eventually, the next morning, Tyler said he was leaving and prepared to head to work.

“He said, ‘I don’t feel safe here and I’m not coming back.’ I said to him, ‘please, if you don’t feel safe here, by all means go somewhere you feel safe,’” said Laura.

Hours later, Laura got a text from Tyler saying he had hurt himself and was heading to the hospital. Once there, Tyler was placed under 24-hour selfharm watch, before he was released the next day, again, she said, without a support plan or offers of assistance.

In the early hours of Jan. 23, Tyler returned home, still displaying paranoia toward Laura.

She said he also began covering the vents in the house with paper, moving items around the house and dumping their laundry on the floor.

BEGGING FOR HELP

After staying in her bedroom with their two kids for hours, Laura got her sister, MacArthur, to call the Charlottetown police. When they arrived, things began to go sideways, said Laura.

“I was trying to tell the officer outside details of the events up to this point and he just kept repeating, ‘I’m talking about today. Did he say he was going to harm himself today?’” she said.

Eventually, Laura and MacArthur began asking the officers to take Tyler back to the hospital, but they would not.

“The officer outside said, ‘He’s just a little under the criteria (to admit him to care),’” said MacArthur.

In total, police visited their home three times that day, not once taking Tyler to the hospital, said Laura.

Eventually, police brought Laura to the station, where she was told she would need to sign a stay-away order against her husband due to a call being made to child protective services about the incident.

“It didn’t sit right with me the whole time, and I told (the officer), he is going to kill himself,’” she said. “‘No one is taking him to the hospital, and now you are telling him he can’t talk to us? See us? He is going to kill himself.’ I told them all this was going to happen.”

Despite her hope that the police would eventually take him to the hospital, they did not. Instead, officers dropped him off downtown, she said.

“They just kept telling me he’s a grown man. He will figure it out himself. But I knew he was going to die,” said Laura. “I knew it because I couldn’t make him go (to the hospital), and the people who could, didn’t. They told me if I contacted him, I would be charged. So, I just laid there, for hours, not knowing where he was or if he was safe, waiting for my phone to ring.”

On the morning of Jan. 17, security found Tyler dead inside Province House, the place where Laura said he once felt the safest and most secure.

In an emailed response to an inquiry by SaltWire Network, Parks Canada officials confirmed there was an incident at Province House resulting in a loss of life.

“We wish to extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to family, friends and the community. Grief counsellors and additional supports have been made available to the workers at the site.”

LOOKING FORWARD

While the wounds of losing Tyler are still fresh, Laura said the support she has received from family and friends keeps her going.

She said she intends to file a complaint against Charlottetown Police Services for how they handled the situation. SaltWire Network contacted the City of Charlottetown to inquire about police conduct and procedures while dealing with mental health calls. In an email, a city spokesperson said, “The Charlottetown Police Department have no comment.”

Whether anything comes of the complaint, though, it will not change the fact Tyler is gone.

“I’m just sad for every day we have to live without him. I’m sad for every milestone we’ll hit without him. My daughter, she’s sad about not having him for her wedding day or her graduation,” she said. “He was my best friend. And the love he gave me, I will long for that feeling every day.”