Coroner appeals supreme court decision
The territory's coroner is appealing a Yukon Supreme Court decision that would reveal the details of the RCMP investigation into the death of Raymond Silverfox.
The territory's coroner is appealing a Yukon Supreme Court decision that would reveal the details of the RCMP investigation into the death of Raymond Silverfox.
Last month, Justice Ron Veale ruled in favour of the Silverfox family's request to have the entire coroner's brief entered into evidence in an upcoming judicial review of the inquest into the 43-year-old Carmacks man's tragic death.
During a coroner's inquest held last spring, the public learned Silverfox was ignored, laughed at and verbally abused by the officers and guards who were supposed to care for him as he lay on the floor of a bare cell in the RCMP's Whitehorse headquarters.
Though Silverfox was violently ill and needed medical attention, no one ever called an ambulance nor entered his cell to check on him until his heart and lungs had stopped functioning.
His vital signs were briefly revived by paramedics before Silverfox was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The six-person coroner's jury ultimately decided Silverfox's death was accidental.
Now the Silverfox family, led by the deceased man's only daughter, Deanna-Lee Charlie, is demanding a judicial review of the inquest.
Publicly and in court documents, they claim chief coroner Sharon Hanley favoured the RCMP during her inquest and failed to do her own investigation, instead using the information given to her by the police as the coroner's brief.
The coroner's jury never saw the entire brief during the inquest, although lawyers for the Silverfox family, the RCMP and the coroner all had copies, which they swore not to release to the public.
Now, the Silverfox family wants Veale to consider the whole document, not just the parts entered into evidence during the inquest, during his review of the affair.
Veale agreed he should have access to the entire file, but on Tuesday, Hanley appealed his decision.
Her lawyer on the appeal, Zeb Brown, said he could not comment on his client's reasons for appealing.
No reasons are given in the documents filed this week.
The B.C.-Yukon Court of Appeal will hear cases in May, but Brown said this case may have been filed too late to get into the spring appeal session.
Hanley also declined to comment on her reasons for appealing.
Comments (1)
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G Hardy on Mar 16, 2011 at 12:09 pm
The thing that bothers me is the reason for Mr. Silverfox death, according to the coroners report, was Pneumonia.
This really must be clarified as there is a condition called "Aspiration Pneumonia". My first wife died from this and it was from choking on her own vomit (overdosed).There was help there, but she never regained consciousness. Google "types of Pneumonia" and it will show there is also Bacterial,Viral ect.
Just excactly what did the coroner classify this Pneumonia as, kind of important. Mr. Silverfox did vomit many times that night in the Police cell, and it only makes sense that he Aspirated, and the neglect to get him help may have contributed considerably to his death.