(file photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Death investigation

‘We recognize you have suffered a great loss’: jury deliberations begin at Kereluk death inquest

Dec 6, 2019 | 1:06 PM

A six-person jury, consisting of five women and one man, now have the job of reviewing all the evidence they have heard over a period of four days, and deciding what, if any, changes need to be made to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Ryan Kereluk, 34, was found unresponsive in his cell at the Prince Albert Police Service on May 18, 2018 and was later pronounced deceased in hospital. The cause of death was determined to be methamphetamine toxicity.

Over the course of four days, a total of 19 people provided testimony at the public inquest, including police officers, paramedics, guards, inmates, and a pathologist.

One of the more compelling pieces of evidence heard this week related to Kereluk’s final hour alive on May 18. At 6:57 a.m., Kereluk was seen on a security camera making jerking movements and his body was seen slowly sliding off the concrete bed where he slept.

Kereluk was not checked on until 7:56 a.m. and at the time police officers began chest compressions and were seen using an AED device. After seeing a still image of Kereluk with his shirt off, Dr. Shaun Ladham testified Kereluk had already been dead for “some time”, although he could not specifically say for how long.

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Ladham also said in his report Kereluk had a “fatal range” of meth in his system. This statement was backed up by Josey Belcher who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence. Belcher was with Kereluk the night of May 16, when police executed a search warrant at a residence. Belcher said everyone in the house was injecting drugs that night.

Tracy Detillieux, an advanced care paramedic with Parkland Ambulance, was a member of the team which responded to the police service cells on May 18. She testified Kereluk had “no electrical activity” in his heart; and she added in 50 per cent of cases when that occurs, they call time of death. She explained because of Kereluk’s age, they continued working, and did everything they could to try and revive him.

In his closing remarks Coroner Timothy Hawryluk thanked the Kereluk family for attending the inquest and praised them for their courage.

“We recognize you have suffered a great loss,” he said.

Hawryluk reminded the jury their job is to not to assess blame or decide if anyone should be compensated, but rather to make recommendations to help prevent future incidents from happening. He advised possible recommendations may be related to policy or training

The jury began its deliberations around 10:30 a.m. Friday and there was no indication given how long members may take. Hawryluk said if they needed more than one day, there was an option to adjourn to a different day.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell