A few hours before his death, on October 7, 2022, Alex* was in a residence in Mistissini, in Nord-du-Québec. The 35 -year -old man is intoxicated, after consuming cocaine and cannabis.
One of his relatives contact the emergency services for the first time, at 9:25 p.m., worried about seeing Alex agité. Two minutes later, a second call is housed with the police. At the end of the line, the woman presents on the scene reiterates the need for police intervention.
When agents of the Eeyou Eenou police service and the Sûreté du Québec arrive on the spot, the thirties throws himself on them, shouting.
“Police must master it on the ground, then handle it,” reports the coroner to the file, Me Karine Cénard.
Arrived at the police station managed by the police service Eeyou Eenou, the man is led to his cell, where the handcuffs are removed around 9:45 p.m.
Shortly before 10 p.m., the agents in office, returning from an intervention, note, on the surveillance cameras, that Alex is motionless on the ground, lying on the belly.
Quickly, resuscitation maneuvers were made and the defendant was transported by ambulance to the clinic of Mistissini, where his death is confirmed by a doctor.
An autopsy will note that the presence of cocaine in toxic concentration in the blood, twinned with important heart problems, could have contributed to death.
Supervised
During the journey to the police station, the agents assigned to the file communicate with a nurse from the Mistissini clinic to discuss the statement of the accused. They are then suitable for the possibility of leading it to a health establishment, if necessary.
However, a few minutes after their return to the post, the agents, called to intervene on the scene of a second event, all leave the police station, leaving Alex without supervision.
For ten minutes, no staff member is present to ensure visual surveillance of the defendant, however in a state of significant poisoning, indicates the coroner.
Politicians for this purpose, issued by the Eeyou Eenou Police Ministry and Police Service, are however clear, underlines Me Céspnard.
By cameras or thanks to regular rounds, “a surveillance process must be set up from the start of incarceration”.
The practices are all the more specific when a defendant is “under the influence of abuse substances or in a state of agitation”.
“Insofar as there were no police officers present for about 10 minutes to ensure this visual surveillance, this element was probably contributory to the death of Monsieur who could possibly be warned with a different level of surveillance,” concludes the coroner.
Recurring recommendations
For ME SPORTARD, it is advisable to “make a reminder” to employees of the EEYOU EENOU police service on the importance of an assiduous application of the prison supervision policy.
She recalls that, in the case of Alex, the shortcomings observed may have contributed to the lack of immediate medical care and therefore to death.
The recommendation put forward by Me Pénard is reminiscent of those of his colleague, Me Éric Lépine, shared on June 26.
In a file that is akin to that of Alex, me lepine finger at the lack of adequate surveillance. Fails raised in the Nunavik Police Service Surveillance Practices would also have contributed to the death of a defendant.
The Coroner concludes its report in particular by recommending the installation “of a system of specific cameras for the surveillance of detained persons in order to ensure their safety”.
*Fictitious name
