RCMP Watch

Bill Phillips (Prince George Free Press) - Media reports that the woman who died in RCMP custody Thursday killed herself in the cells are premature.

“We are not able to confirm that (the death was a suicide),” Const. Annie Linteau, E Division Strategic Communication Section, said Friday.

The Prince George Citizen quoted Sgt. Tom Bethune as saying the death was likely a suicide.

“A member, who is not a member of the investigative team, chose to make those comments,” Linteau said.

Bethune could not be reached for comment at press time. The woman was arrested and taken to the cells early Thursday morning for being intoxicated in a public place. While conducting prisoner checks, the guard on duty observed the woman to be unresponsive.

An autopsy was conducted Friday. Linteau said the results of the autopsy will not be released until a mandatory coroner’s inquest is held.

In addition to the inquest and RCMP investigation into the death, the Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, Paul Kennedy, has filed a complaint into the death.

“I am initiating this complaint with the full appreciation that the RCMP has deployed its ‘E’ Division North-District Major Crime Unit to investigate this incident and that the RCMP will be ordering an Independent Officer Review,” Kennedy said in a written statement. “It is not my intention to prejudice the RCMP investigations. However, I will be closely monitoring RCMP progress as it relates to the investigations underway so that I can ensure, at their completion, a timely response to this complaint.”

He added that given the on-going expressions of public concern regarding “the detention, monitoring and treatment of prisoners in RCMP custody, the magnitude of the responsibility assumed by the RCMP in relation to persons held in its custody and my previous recommendations to the RCMP on such matters, I am satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to investigate the conduct of all members involved in this incident.”

Three high-profile cases of deaths in police custody have occurred in the North in the past couple of years: Ian Bush in Houston, Kevin St. Arnaud in Vanderhoof, and Donald Lewis near Williams Lake.

Kennedy said his complaint is regarding the conduct of all RCMP officers and/or civilian guards involved in the matter. In addition, the complaint focuses on how the RCMP deal with people when they are in custody, specifically:

• Whether the RCMP members or other persons appointed or employed under the authority of the RCMP Act involved in the events of June 26, 2008, from the moment of initial contact and arrest, through to the subsequent detention and death, complied with all appropriate training, policies, procedures, guidelines and statutory requirements relating to persons held in RCMP custody;

• Whether the RCMP members at the Prince George RCMP Detachment provided adequate supervision and direction to the guard or guards who were charged with the care and handling of prisoners in the custody of the Prince George RCMP during the period of (her) detention and subsequent death; and

• Whether the RCMP national, divisional and detachment-level policies, procedures and guidelines relating to the monitoring and treatment of persons detained in RCMP custody are adequate to ensure the proper care and safety thereof.

Linteau said other details, such as whether there is videotape of the woman in the cells, will be released at the inquest.