Death of northern Manitoba man in RCMP custody was preventable: medical examiner

The death of a 54-year-old man in RCMP custody could have been prevented if the leg of another detained person that fell on his neck while he was in a holding cell was removed, Manitoba's chief medical examiner said Thursday.

At an inquest into the 2019 death of John Ettawakapow, Dr. John Younes testified that Ettawakapow had a very high blood alcohol level and signs of heart disease.

However, Younes said he couldn't ignore the role of the other man's leg in the cause of death.

"There's every reason to believe he [Ettawakapow] would have survived his period in his cell" had the other man's leg been removed, Younes told court in The Pas, where the inquest is being held before provincial court Judge Brian Colli.

He pointed to the security video which showed Ettawakapow make motions to remove the leg several times before he stopped moving all together. 

"The video evidence clearly shows Ettawakapow respond to that," he told the court.

Younes's testimony came on the fourth day of hearings at the inquest into Ettawakapow's death in The Pas.

Ettawakapow was arrested for public intoxication on Oct. 5, 2019, and placed in a holding cell, along with two other men, just after 7 p.m. He was pronounced dead more than seven hours later.

Court heard no one physically checked on Ettawakapow for five hours, during which time one of the other inmates moved and his leg fell on Ettawakapow's neck, possibly smothering him.

If Ettawakapow had been taken to a hospital, he would have been kept there and constantly monitored, Younes told court.

Two Mounties and one civilian guard admitted during the inquest they weren't aware of the RCMP's policy, which is to physically check on inmates every 15 minutes.

"It was my impression from the jail guard and from officers that there is a misunderstanding on the policy," Judge Colli said Thursday.

"There is an impression that you are not constantly monitoring them, which in itself increases risk to those in detention."

Const. Joel Hardes, Cpl. Eryin Wiita and Rebecca MacDonald, a former civilian guard, all told the court they believed the policy was to physically check on an inmate every 30 minutes, and in the interim monitor them through video surveillance.