death in custody
B.C.'s in custody deaths crisis: Interview with SFU Criminologist David MacAlister
By Am Johal, Rabble.caDavid MacAlister holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Criminology from Simon Fraser University, an LL.B. from the University of British Columbia, and an LL.M. from Queen University. He has taught courses on criminology, criminal justice and law at various institutions since 1985. His current teaching areas include Criminal Procedure and Evidence, Philosophy of Law, Human Rights and Civil Liberties, and Sentencing. His research interests include the area of financial compensation for victims of crime and sentencing practices, including the use of reparative dispositions in the criminal law. He is a co-author of the text: Canadian Criminal Justice Today, now entering its second edition. He is presently an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. Read more »
Broaden Ashley Smith inquest: lawyer
CBC NewsAn Ontario coroner's inquest into the final few months of Ashley Smith's life must be broadened to fully understand her "barbaric" living conditions and learn fully what led to the death of the troubled New Brunswick teen, a lawyer for her family argued.
"Excluding a full look into Ashley Smith’s state of mind in the final 11.5 months of her life could impede the jury in determining whether her death was truly a suicide or an accident," Julian Falconer told Coroner Bonita Porter in a coroner's court.
‘They thought that nobody would care’
By Shirley McLean, APTN National NewsWHITEHORSE –A Yukon family was in court Friday trying to quash the finding’s of a coroner’s inquest into the death of a 43-year-old First Nations man who died in a Whitehorse hospital after spending several hours lying in his own feces, urine and vomit inside an RCMP cell while watched and mocked by officers and guards.
Silverfox’s family have gone to the Yukon Supreme Court to challenge the findings of the inquest which concluded the death was the result of natural causes.
The court adjourned proceedings for two months.
The RCMP: a police force in denial
National Post editorial boardLast Friday was another sad day for the once-respected Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Former British Columbia Appeals Court justice Thomas Braidwood released his scathing final report into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski following his confrontation with four Mounties — Monty Robinson, Kwesi Millington, Gerry Rundel and Bill Bentley — at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.
Silverfox reveals the territory’s two solitudes
By Heather Bennett, Yukon NewsDear Uma:
Your disbelief around the story of the death of Raymond Silverfox is understandable; I am still feeling a sickness in my stomach about what happened, and what is not happening, as a result of Siverfox’s death.
Yukon RCMP work on First Nations relations
CBC NewsThe Yukon's top Mountie says he is working on improving the RCMP's relationships with First Nations after the 2008 death of an aboriginal man in police custody.
Commanding officer Supt. Peter Clark spoke to CBC News for the first time since a coroner's inquest was held in the Dec. 2, 2008, death of Raymond Silverfox, 43, a member of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation.
The inquest, which took place last month, heard that Silverfox died after he had been held at the Whitehorse RCMP detachment's drunk tank for more than 13 hours, without any medical help offered to him during that time.
RCMP tighten rules on proper use of Tasers in wake of Dziekanski inquiry
OTTAWA — The RCMP announced changes Tuesday that will restrict the use of Taser stun guns, in the wake of a report on the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.
The new standard will be that the guns should only be fired in "situations where a subject is causing bodily harm, or the police officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the subject will imminently cause bodily harm," the RCMP said in a news release.
The force said the stricter policy addresses concerns in the Braidwood report, the outcome of a public inquiry into Dziekanski's October 2007 death at the Vancouver airport.
'We failed,' Yukon RCMP says of in-custody death
CBC NewsThe Yukon RCMP has expressed shock and regret over the "insensitive and callous" treatment of Raymond Silverfox, who died after spending 13 hours in custody in 2008.
The 43-year-old First Nations man from Carmacks, Yukon, was subjected to ridicule and mockery from RCMP members during the final hours of his life in the Whitehorse detachment's drunk tank, where he was kept from 5 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2008.
A coroner's inquest into Silverfox's death heard that he had vomited 26 times in his cell during the 13 hours he was in custody, but officers and guards assumed he was simply drunk.
