Inquest into Saskatoon cell death wraps up

Among them:

1. That a program put in place after Daniels' death that sees a paramedic staffed at the police detention unit for 12 hours overnight be expanded to 24 hours.

2. That medical support staff be made available at the Lighthouse shelter, which recently opened up 20 beds to house intoxicated people who might otherwise end up in cells. As it stands, there are no medical or security staff on site there, which means police can only refer compliant people without any potential medical problems to those beds.

3. That a Brief Detox Unit (BDU) operated by the Saskatoon Health Region be expanded. Currently, the unit has 12 beds. Eight of those are for males, four are for females. The jury heard testimony from Staff Sgt. Darcy Shukin, the officer in charge of the detention unit, that Saskatoon lags far behind other cities in Western Canada on a per capita basis when it comes to the availability of BDU beds.

4. That the police, health region, province and various First Nations and Metis organizations collaborate to establish a Wellness Centre in Saskatoon that would include a brief detox unit.

5. That the province establish a remand centre in Saskatoon. Currently, people charged with crimes who are on remand are often housed in the police cells as the Saskatoon Correctional Centre doesn't accept prisoners in the evenings. This was a contributing factor in double-bunking and overcrowding in the unit the night Daniels died.

6. That a training video required for detention unit staff on dealing with intoxicated people become mandatory viewing for all police officers.

7. That a 'triage card' issued to patrol officers that outlines where to send people who may be intoxicated based on their symptoms be updated and that the cards include a 'rouseability chart,' which is a tool used to assess a subjects' level of consciousness. During the inquest it came out that the current cards don't line up with the police policy manual and that under the guidelines on the card, Daniels still would have likely ended up in the cells.

8. That a rouseability chart be posted in the police detention area.

9. That a system of letters or symbols be implemented to indicate when prisoners held in the detention area require extra monitoring for medical problems or potential suicide risks and that the symbols be affixed to the cell doors visible to officers who do checks on the inmates.

10. That the police service review communications practices between the detention unit and missing persons. The jury heard that Daniels' cousin reported him missing to police at about 1:45 am. on Jul. 3, 2010. That was just under five hours before Daniels died, and about six hours after Daniels was brought into the detention unit.

11. That the province and the police review the system SPS uses for 911 codes and include a 'Person in distress, cause unkown' code. The inquest was told that when a member of the public called police after Daniels started throwing up and passed out in front of the Galaxy movie theatre, the dispatcher assigned a code to the call indicating an intoxicated person.

12. That SPS and the Saskatoon Health Region bring back the P.A.C.T (Police And Crisis Team) program for a period of at least 12 months. After the 12 months, the jury recommended an assessment to determine if the program was worth keeping. P.A.C.T . was a program that saw a health region funded mental health professional teamed up with police to respond to calls where there are potential mental health issues. The pilot project lasted for 30 days before funding dried up.

Bird said she was happy with the recommendations and hoped to see them implemented.

“Hopefully things will change. I hope there was enough people notified and followed that things will change now,” she said.

Bird said she wants the inquest to help keep anyone else from dying in police custody.

“(Daniels' death) could have been prevented and we know that now. And not only us, the police know it now. It shouldn't have happened. Let's do something now to stop it from happening to someone else,” she said.

blevy@rawlco.com

Follow on Twitter: @BrynLevy

by Bryn Levy

Inquest into Saskatoon cell death wraps up

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