Jury at Sask. in-cell suicide inquest recommends changes to training and police search policies
CBC
Warning: this story contains a description of suicide.
The jury in the coroner's inquest into the death of Jeremy Sabourin has released a lengthy list of recommendations for the Moose Jaw Police Service and Saskatchewan RCMP aimed at avoiding similar in-custody suicides in the future.
Sabourin was 40 years old in October 2021, when he concealed a small five-shot revolver on the inside of his pants while being arrested by RCMP and later shot himself in a police cell at the Moose Jaw Police Service's station.
Multiple police agencies failed to detect the weapon.
The jury ruled Thursday that Sabourin died as the result of a single gun-shot wound to his head.
Their recommendations to prevent similar incidents included:
Coroner Blaine Beaven made his own proposal after the jury made their recommendations.
He recommended that all police agencies should review the recommendations made by the jury, and where necessary modify the wording so that the recommendations apply to them.
"Prisoners are taken into custody by various police and law enforcement agencies across the province on a daily basis. This incident could have happened at any of them, and could still happen, and so these recommendations are actually relevant to them as well," said Beaven.
Sabourin, described in an obituary as a member of the Saskatchewan Handgun Association and a local safety officer for several years, was 40 years old when he was arrested by the Assiniboia RCMP detachment on Oct. 6, 2021.
At the time of Sabourin's arrest, he had been wanted for nearly a year on an outstanding warrant for a sexual assault charge.
RCMP officers testified that Sabourin was known to be the type of person who would carry a gun in a vehicle or on his person. He was also known to be a "borderline" freeman of the land, or sovereign-citizen believer, meaning he was known to question law enforcement and reject lawful authority.
The jury heard conflicting testimony about how many times Sabourin was searched while in RCMP custody.
Testimony confirmed Sabourin was physically searched two separate times by different officers: once when he was arrested and again when he was taken back to the RCMP's Assiniboia detachment.
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