The Nova Scotia man who was shocked with a Taser struggled with jail staff twice before he died Thursday morning, corrections officials said Monday.

Hyde, 45, a paranoid schizophrenic, died Thursday morning at the Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, 30 hours after police jolted him with a stun gun to try to subdue him.

Howard Hyde, 45, struggled with jail staff twice shortly before he died last week, according to an internal Corrections review.
(Canadian Press)

After reviewing the videotapes from the jail, Fred Honsberger, executive director of Correctional Services with the Department of Justice, said Hyde's death remains a mystery.

No method of restraint was used that should have caused injury, he said.

"We don't strike offenders. We don't use choke holds. We don't use batons.… What we do is we restrict the arm movements and the leg movements and try as much as possible to place them in restraints."

Honsberger said he's left with one question: "What was it about this person's health that caused his death?"

A number of investigations are underway to determine the cause of death.

The Taser was used on Hyde at the police station early Wednesday while he was being booked on an assault charge. Police said he tried twice to get away.

Hyde was moved to the jail that evening, examined by health-care staff and placed in a special cell for observation, according to the internal Corrections review.

The next morning, Hyde was in two separate struggles with staff that required him to be physically restrained.

The first incident happened while he was being escorted to the admissions area. Staff placed him in handcuffs.

Hyde struggled again as he was being placed in a holding cell. It was soon after that that he stopped resisting and officers became alarmed, worried something was wrong.

Health-care staff performed CPR on Hyde until paramedics arrived. He was then taken to Dartmouth General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Honsberger said jail staff followed proper procedures while Hyde was in their custody.

Because 30 hours passed between the time Hyde was hit with the Taser and his death at the jail, Honsberger suspects there is no direct connection between the two.

But he's waiting for the experts to say that, he said.

"I'll be very interested in seeing the coroner's report."