An Indigenous man’s death in Smithers RCMP custody almost four years ago was partly due to a lack of proper prisoner care, as outlined by B.C.’s police watchdog. The man, who had been arrested for aggravated assault following a home invasion on September 1, 2022, died by suicide in his cell while the guard responsible for monitoring him was observed nodding off or turning away from surveillance screens.
An investigation by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) revealed that essential safety checks were not consistently conducted at the Smithers RCMP detachment at the time, despite policy requirements. According to IIO Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund, the man’s death was deemed preventable, although there was no sufficient evidence to suggest that officers committed an offense.
The report highlighted that the last physical check on the man occurred at 7:57 a.m. on September 4, with no subsequent checks until he was discovered unresponsive 13 hours later. The man was seen receiving a meal through his cell door slot at around 5:51 p.m. before being monitored via video from the guard station. Subsequently, video footage showed the man unresponsive about 90 minutes later.
A guard interviewed by the RCMP admitted to the routine failure of staff to conduct physical checks on regular cells, despite the existing policy mandating such checks. The report also revealed that physical checks had not been consistently performed at the Smithers detachment for 26 years, despite numerous cell reviews.
Staffing shortages were noted at the time, with an acting sergeant and detachment commander overseeing the Smithers cells differently from other detachments, leading to less guard-prisoner interaction and fewer physical checks. The commander responsible for guard training and cell maintenance acknowledged the lack of proper training and monitoring systems for physical cell checks.
Following the incident, measures were taken to enhance guard training, ensure completion of physical checks through cell logbook monitoring, improve record-keeping, and recruit additional guards at the detachment. Berglund emphasized that while there were multiple operational failures in the cell block operations at the Smithers RCMP detachment during the man’s death, the officers’ actions did not meet the threshold for criminal negligence causing death.
The IIO reported that from 2019 to 2023, 15 individuals died while in custody or being transported to hospitals from cells, with seven being Indigenous, underscoring the critical need for appropriate detainee care. The importance of proper care for detainees was stressed as lacking in this case by the IIO.