Coroner announces inquest to look at B.C. man's in-custody death
CBC
The B.C. Coroners Service has announced an inquest into the death of Randy Dale Lampreau, a member of the Simpcw First Nation who died in RCMP custody.
Lampreau, 49, died in a Kamloops RCMP holding cell on March 13, 2019, after being arrested for public intoxication the previous night.
An investigation by B.C.'s police oversight agency, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), found that Kamloops RCMP was not responsible for the man's death and that police actions were reasonable during the time Lampreau was in custody.
The IIO concluded that Lampreau died from inflammation in his heart muscles, which can cause sudden death. It also said methamphetamine toxicity was another contributing factor, and the levels in his system were "in the lethal range."
However, the news of the coroner's inquest is reigniting calls from Lampreau's sister to change how the RCMP treat people in custody, particularly those arrested for public intoxication.
"It just stirs up everything again, you know, for what we went through with my brother passing in city cells," Regina Basil, Lampreau's sister, said at news of the coroner's inquest.
"It's a healing process to keep fighting for the integrity of my brother and how he was treated," she added. "And how all these steps weren't done proper. And I'm sure he'd be here today if all that [proper steps] was done."
Basil is pushing for medical professionals to look after those arrested for public intoxication instead of cell guards, as well as updated RCMP protocols for how those incarcerated for drug use or public intoxication are treated.
Recommendations from coroner's inquests are not legally binding. They serve to determine the facts of death and make recommendations to prevent deaths in similar circumstances.
The inquest into Lampreau's death will begin on July 22 at the Kamloops Law Courts.
An IIO report into Lampreau's death said that he was arrested and taken to holding cells at the Kamloops RCMP detachment on March 12, 2019.
A civilian cell guard who came on duty around midnight said Lampreau was already in custody when he clocked in. He began regularly checking on the 49-year-old and others in custody.
Around 1 a.m. PT, the guard says he saw Lampreau sway and fall backwards onto the cell floor. When he checked in on Lampreau, the guard says Lampreau rolled onto his side and told him he was fine.
Two hours later, according to the report, Lampreau was seen to lie down in his cell, and the guard assumed he was "sleeping it off."
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