A public inquiry into the death of a prisoner, who died on highway 97 near 100 Mile House while being transported from Prince George to Maple Ridge, is now underway.
Alexander Charles Joseph, 36, died on Oct. 4, 2018, of a suspected overdose while he was being transported with eight other prisoners in a corrections van.
Lyn Blenkinsop, presiding coroner, and a jury of five are hearing evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding his death. Upon conclusion of the four-day proceedings, the jury will make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
During the first day of the inquest Monday, the jury heard testimony about Jospeh’s background from his aunt and probation officer.
They then heard testimony from those who assisted at the scene: an RCMP officer, two passersby with medical training including a doctor and first aid attendant, and a paramedic from BC Ambulance.
During his opening statement, Inquest Counsel John Orr summarized the circumstances during transport.
“Along the way you will hear that Mr. Jospeh was seen by the other inmate in his unit to take something into his mouth. A short while later he gets very sleepy and lies down on the floor. The other inmate becomes concerned for his wellbeing.”
Orr states the prisoners tried to get the attention of the corrections officers for a while but the journey keeps going until they get are eventually able to get the attention of the officers.
The corrections officers then see a police cruiser who has a vehicle pulled over on the side of the highway and stop to ask the RCMP officer for assistance.
The corrections officers then removed Joseph from the van and begin performing CPR.
The police officer, Cpl. Rick Meaver, also assists with CPR along with the two passersbys, general practitioner Dr. Stefan De Swardt and Michael Raftery, who has a high level of first aid training.
“Alex was a mischievous child, full of life, daredevil, funny and always on the go. A very beautiful boy,” said his aunt Ann Joseph, who was the first to testify.
“Alex, being a child of a survivor of Lejac Residential School, had grown up fast and had to leave behind his carefree childhood days and his little boy life. His mom tried her best but the demons of physical, mental and sexual abuse by the nuns and priests was too much for the young mom and she lost her way.”
Joseph was a member of Nak’azdli First Nation and spent time in foster care away from his home community.
“What this little boy endured I will never know. I know we loved him and couldn’t protect him,” added his aunt.
Jospeh’s probation officer Kerstin Poirier also testified about his background, explaining he was very motivated to improve his life but struggled with addiction.
“He spoke about how at the age of 13 he started to experiment with friends and that is kind of where everything went wrong. He reported that he was selling drugs to do drugs and before going into custody had daily use of substances,” said Poirer.
She said Joseph reported that he’d spent 14 of the last 18 years either in a provincial or federal corrections facility.
“He had a lengthy history. He had 86 convictions and 22 of those were for failure to comply with a probation order,” said Poirier. “He was somebody that especially in our role, we don’t give up on. He wanted help but sometimes when you have those habits it’s really hard to trust somebody.”
Poirier explained there was one incident in a corrections facility where Joseph had to be revived because of substance misuse and he also reported other occasions in the community where he had to be revived.
Orr questioned how Joseph was able to remain addicted to substances when he was in custody for such a long period.
“They don’t tell us because we would have to then report it. We can ask them about it but his stance was he was sober in custody even when he spoke about the overdose in custody,” said Poirier.
The jury also reviewed dashcam footage from Cst. Meaver’s cruiser.
While reviewing the video, Cst. Meaver explained how Joseph was unresponsive and how he performed chest compressions and administered Narcan for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before Dr. De Swardt arrived on scene.
All witnesses who performed CPR on Joseph reported no signs of life and described a substance within Joseph’s nose and throat.
“I noticed his skin was waxy and he had mucus coming from the corner of his mouth,’ added Cst. Meaver.
Dr. De Swardt said there was definitive evidence of vomiting, as there was "quite a lot of stuff" in his mouth.
“In the hospital setting it’s easy you have suction devices to clear the airway but on the side of the road you have nothing so you can try and maintain an airway but if it’s blocked by a foreign body it’s impossible to clear it.”
Dr. De Swardt testified they continued with CPR until the ambulance arrived and at that point the paramedics attempted to ventilate and defibrillate Joseph but they were unsuccessful because there was no electrical activity within the heart.
After 35 minutes of CPR with no response, Dr. De Swardt declared Joseph to be deceased.
However, Dr. De Swardt said because of Joseph’s pale lips, cold skin, and dilated pupils he suspected Joseph was deceased prior to his arrival on scene.
When asked by Orr how long he suspected Joseph had been deceased, Dr. De Swardt responded at least five to 10 minutes but it could have been longer.
“That state does not change much from dead to an hour or two later.”
The inquest is scheduled to continue until Thursday. The jury will hear testimony from 22 witnesses. The BC Coroners Service investigates over 5,000 deaths per year but inquests are not a routine occurrence. On average there are approximately eight to 14 inquests per year in the province.
