06/11/2017 17:07:14
The Presiding Judge
Provincial Court of British Columbia
Port Coquitlam, BC
Your Honour,
Re: BERLADYN, DANIEL
General Narrative
This report has been prepared at the request of the Provincial Court of British Columbia at Port Coquitlam. On November 1, 2017 the Court ordered that a fitness assessment be done on Mr. Berladyn. Mr. Berladyn has been charged with two counts of Failure to Comply with the Condition of Undertaking or Recognizance, contrary to section 145(3) of the Criminal Code, which are alleged to have occured on or about October 31, 2017 at or near Port Moody, British Columbia.
This report has been prepared for Mr. Berladyn's upcoming court appearance on November 7, 2017. Mr. Berladyn was informed of the non-confidential nature of the assessment including that I would be preparing this report to Court. He acknowledged understanding of this.
Sources of Information
- Accompanying court documents
- Mr. Berladyn's medical chart and staff observations
- Referral information including report to Crown Counsel.
- Previous overnight fitness assessments
- Note of the admitting physician Dr. Widajewicz
- Direct examination of Mr. Berladyn
- Collateral information from sources as outlined below
Background Information
The referral information indicated that it was unclear if he was fit to stand trial and it was unclear what diagnosis and his ability to comply with the court order.
The police report indicated that on October 31, a woman called police to say that Mr. Berladyn was at his mother's residence and breaching his No-Go condition. Constable arrived and observed him standing on the front steps talking to his mother. He was placed under arrest. It was noted in the file materials that he been charged with mischief from August 27, 2017 and had conditions not to attend within a block of his mother. It was noted that the call taker from 911 heard a man yelling which the call taker presumed was Mr. Berladyn yelling at his mother. His mother indicated that he had shown up at her home because he had no money and no place to stay. When arriving at the Port Moody cells, he named a lawyer and asked to speak with him and apparently did speak with a lawyer.
Records from Lions Gate Hospital
He was seen at the hospital on February 24, 2016. It was noted he had recently been discharged from Royal Columbian Hospital, recently evicted from his family home and was now living in a trailer in Port Coquitlam. He voiced suicidal ideation in a Facebook post. The police were alerted and he was brought from work under Section 28 of the Mental Health Act.
It was noted that he had a 20 year history of difficulties within his family and things have been coming to a head somewhat recently. He was evicted from his mother's home in November, and he felt that this was unfair because he was the main financial support. He faced a charge of mischief. He recently had to move into a trailer in with the electricity just failed. He had a long standing history of sibling rivalry which persisted to this day and had been a constant source of pressure and frustration for him. Work was a positive thing for him. He indicated that he was not suicidal when seen in the hospital but he could think about it in the next five years. He reported having a bout of genuine suicidal ideation in October 2013. He indicated he was just discharged from the Tricities Mental Health Team the day before because a psychologist told him that he was not crazy enough. It was noted that he was at the Royal Columbian Hospital after a one week inpatient stay under the Mental Health Act to rule out bipolar disorder. He did attempt to seek out mental health service in November 2015 through Fraser Health but nothing came of it.
It was noted that he was a third of four children and had a lifelong sibling rivalry which persisted to this day. He reported that he was the black sheep of the family but also he was the only sibling who supported his father in his decline to alcoholism, stayed in the family home and supported his mother. At some point, he was no longer able to support his mother financially and he was asked to leave. He was arrested upon discharge from the Royal Columbian Hospital. He nearly had to declare bankruptcy about two years before. It was noted that his thought forms were mildy circumstantial to tangential, but he could make a coherent narrative with some redirection. The impression was adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of mood and conduct and stressors were noted as a significant difficulty. He was discharged.
Collateral Information from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre
The first notes from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre began on September 15, 2017. It was noted that he was very suspicious and hesitant to answer any questions from the mental health screener. He reported being distrustful of women the system and/any mental health professionals as this had led him to jail in the past. He had symptoms relevant with paranoia. He had odd thought content and would not answer any questions. He asked to have the door closed. He was resistant to putting information in the computer. He was polite and orientated but reported feeling suicidal. He denied thoughts of hurting others. He denied drug use.
On September 16, he denied being suicidal. He said "I hate all you fuckers, the System is failing me but it is all my problem and my fault" when he was talking with the registered psychiatric nurse.
On September 17, he reported that the whole System was joke. He reported that he never said he was going to hurt himself. He reported that he had some scan and they seen something in him.
On September 18, he reported that the System was stacking up against him.
On September 19, he reported feeling fine and was cooperative.
On September 20, he told a lengthy story about however and out there keeps fucking me around. He indicated that the police and his family were part of it. He said that the sisters all thought he was crazy and the fucking doctors kept making shit up about his mental health and his lawyer was a fucking asshole. He said he was arrested for no reason. He denied suicidal thoughts in jail but said he would commit suicide in front of the police station because he was so mad at the police officers who were trying to ruin his life. He would not speak about his mental health history because he said that the mental health coordinator would use it against him like his sisters do.
On September 21, he denied suicidal ideation. He felt that he was shafted being jail and that "they" had only put him in there to shut him up.
On September 22, he refused to come to health care.
On September 25, he was untrusting, guarded and paranoid about medical personnel. Psychiatry and Psychology and didn't agree to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist.
There is a gap in notes between September 26 to October 13 when he was seen by the psychologist. He told the psychologist that they were murdering him right now by having him in jail. He thought he was in for a psychiatric evaluation. He said that the whole system was corrupt and that he didn't trust psychiatrists or psychologists. He said he had seen a psychiatrist and may decline to speak with him. The psychiatrist told him he would end up moving to colony farms or sent to a hospital. He said many times that everyone was corrupt. Just because people had more education it didn't mean that they were more intelligent than him. He had resentment at having taken Veniafaxine and Olanzapine for eight years because he believed that he was railroaded. He was concerned about being certified and/or confined to a mental institution. He was upset that he could not access a computer to put down his own view of what had been happening to him. He had a blog he previously posted to online. He had difficulty remaining on topic and purely digressed to speak about his mistrust of the system and his belief that mental health professionals were corrupt and not seeing the real truth, which he could see. He had considerable anger and hostility but he wasn't venting them directly at the psychologist, although came close. The psychologist noted that paranoid and grandiose themes were evident. There had been a gap since he was seen on November 1 when it was noted that he was easily agitated and tearful. He was minimally polite and cooperative through the interview screening process. He denied thoughts of harm to himself or others. He indicated that he was not interested in seeing any mental health professionals while in jail.
Pharmanet Medication Profile
This indicated that he had been prescribed Olanzapine 10mg in October 2018 by a physician who works at the Royal Columbian Hospital. There was no further prescriptions.
Fitness Assessment from Dr. Kolchak dated October 15, 2017
Mr. Berladyn indicated to Dr. Kolchak that he was currently homeless and had no lawyer at the time. He launched into a discussion of topics that were difficult to understand. He claimed that he would rather do it in front of the whole world "the system murdered me". He reported that the system had taken his things like his home, his livelihood and his finances. He reported that he was urgently thrown out of his home on false pretenses that he was a threat. He believed multiple people were involved. He believed they should be in the hospital to have access to a laptop and access to the internet.
He reported that he was forced to be involved with Psychiatry and was last admitted to the Royal Columbian Hospital in October 2016. He stayed for 48 hours. He reported that he had seen 15 psychiatrists in the past. He reported that psychiatric care was trying to undermine his confidence and he was trying to show mistakes in the system. He reported that he was forced to be unbalanced. He indicated that the system was railroading him. He said that the Crown Counsel lied and the system was corrupt. He believed the Court represented an unbalanced system. He refused to answer further questions about fitness and claimed that the psychiatrist was fucked and part of the corrupted system. He said the whole system was bullshit and corrupt. He became angry and clamied that the system lied and misinterpreted. He said that he wanted to see a psychologist correlate things. He was irritable and angry with an intense stare. Dr. Kolchak was unclear of the diagnosis and noted that he was difficult to interpret and his speech was rapid and voluminous. He appeared to be delusional but could have been over-valued ideas. Dr. Kolchak believed that he suffered from at least some symptoms of mental illness but he was unsure of the diagnosis. He thought that Mr. Berladyn might have difficulty communicating his wishes either to his lawyer or to participate in Court but he might be able to participate in the court process after all.
Fitness Assessment from Dr. Levy dated September 18, 2017
Dr. Levy indicated that Mr. Berladyn indicated past outpatient and hospital psychiatric contact. He had taken antidepressant and anti psychotic medication in the past but didn't think it had helped him. He was last briefly admitted in 2016. He was not interested in further psychiatric follow up. It was noted that he was talkative and over inclusive but not markedly disorganized. He had paranoid ideation but no frank delusions. He denied currently suicidal ideation. He thought he was.
Dr. Levy did not think that he was at acute risk. He was uncertain of the diagnosis. Further outpatient assessment was recommended. Dr. Levy thought was fit for court. He noted that he was able to be aware of the circumstances of his arrest, the charge, the pleas, the roles of the court participants and although he was over-inclusive, Dr. Levy thought he could communicate with counsel.
Report to Crown Counsel from August 2017 Charge
The police report indicated that in August 27, at about 6 in the evening, a woman called police to report that Mr. Berladyn was at his mother's residence. He was bound by conditions of a section 810 Peace bond application not to contact her or attend her residence. It was noted that on that date, he attended to her residence and unloaded a large amount of dry wall tools and equipment into her yard and his mother had not provided him with her permission to do so. It was noted that his mental health issues were believed to be a driving factor in this specific investigation. It also recommended a Rogers order if he had bail conditions.
It was noted that on or about July 2, 2016 a trial had been held for him in relation to the section 810 Peace bond application. The Constable believed that there was reasonable grounds to believe that he posed an ongoing safety risk to members of his family and it was exacerbated by undiagnosed mental health issues. It was also noted that on April 5, 2017, a section 111 firearms prohibition application was made. He failed to appear and the courts granted a 5 year firearms prohibition against him. It was noted taht he had made some suicidal remarks to a social worker and the Coquitlam RCMP were eventually able to locate him and deemed him not apprehendable under section 28.
It was noted on February 16, 2016, the Constable had spoken with Tri City's Mental Health who advised that a psychiatrist was in the process of certifying him. He left the facility before police arrived. On February 24, 2016, it was noted that his mother called to advise that he had recently sent a possibly suicidal message to another family member via Facebook. He was found in North Vancouver and the RCMP brought him to the hospital.
On March 28, 2016, Mr. Berladyn called the police to help him retrieve some belongings from his mother's residence which did along with the assistance of a friend.
On October 15, 2016, Mr. Berladyn's cousin called for assistance to remove him from his residence. He did not pay rent and heeded to be removed due to volatile behavior. The cousin had asked him to leave the residence out this resulted in confrontation. He's also received text messages including being "don't bother, I'll be dead you stupid fuck". Mr. Berladyn later showed up at the Coquitlam RCMP detachment expressing needing help to get back on his feet due to financial difficulties. A Coquitlam RCMP member noted that he could not articulate himself and at times was not making sense. He was apprehended under Section 28 of the Mental Health Act.
This is all just a repeat of bad information in the police files.
It goes on and on and on.. full of infotmation that is not true.