It is now up to a group of six laypeople to determine how, when and why Grant Mcleod died following an altercation with police at the Chilkoot Trail Inn on the morning of Aug. 30, 2008.

The half-dozen jurors may also make recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths.

Over the past week, the jury has heard how McLeod came to be lying handcuffed and unresponsive on the floor of the Chilkoot's lobby that August morning.

The night previous, McLeod had been caught on tape, first in the Tim Hortons coffee shop on Second Avenue, then later outside of the Yukon Inn on Fourth. During both videos, McLeod disappeared from view, either into the bathroom or around a corner for several minutes.

But the first personal encounter relayed during the inquest came from the front desk clerk at the Chilkoot.

Josephine Smith was making herself a coffee when she first noticed McLeod in the motel lobby.

He was staggering around and looked like he had a needle in his hand, she said in an interview with police (she refused to testify at the actual hearing).

McLeod did not threaten her, but Smith had been warned by her boss not to confront the man and to simply call 911 if he showed up at the motel.

When police arrived, McLeod was standing at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor. He did not acknowledge the officer who asked him to come down into the foyer, and instead turned around and walked upstairs. Neither officer recalled seeing a needle in McLeod's hand as they followed him.

As McLeod walked down the hall, both officers observed he was shaking his head and muttering to himself as he reached the opposite end, opened the fire escape door, then closed it again.

When he turned back towards the two officers, one of whom had only been out of training for six weeks, he seemed to look right through them, they told the jury.

Everything the officers knew about McLeod at this point – that he had been holding a needle, that he was unresponsive to police commands and that he was talking to himself – led the senior constable to the decision to arrest McLeod under the Mental Health Act.

When Const. Jason MacDonald told McLeod he was under arrest, McLeod simply said "no” as he continued back down the hall toward the approaching officers.

He was not moving or acting in an overtly aggressive manner, the officers said, but his overall behaviour, paired with the complaint about a syringe, was concerning enough to put them on guard.

MacDonald grabbed McLeod's wrists as soon as he was within arm's reach and told Terra Taylor, the junior officer, to cuff him.

McLeod was a tall, well-built man, the jury heard on several occasions, and Taylor said his forearm was too thick for her to get the cuffs around.

McLeod pushed forward and MacDonald attempted a leg sweep. Taylor, seeing that McLeod wasn't going to stop moving, got behind him on tip toes and tried to get him in a choke hold with her arm around his throat.

McLeod went to the ground, taking the constables with him.

A struggle ensued with Taylor still holding onto his neck while trying to stay on McLeod's back and not get pulled underneath his body.

She heard him gurgle and let go for a moment but then tightened her grip on his throat when she felt him still fighting.

During the struggle, MacDonald put in an emergency call for backup.

Moments before reinforcements arrived, a resident of the motel stepped out of his room, saw the police tangling with McLeod and asked if he could help.

"Yes, please,” MacDonald said, and the man went to restrain McLeod's left arm.

At first there was a strong resistance, he told the jury, then the arm went limp and he easily pinned it behind McLeod's back. Taylor was still trying to control him with the choke hold.

A minute later, McLeod was handcuffed and lying face down on the floor. He did not move and he did not speak as the police, six of them now, took off his shoe and pants to search them for needles or drugs.

They carried him, still face down to the end of the hall. A resident who watched them pass said McLeod looked dead.

An officer who checked his vital signs said he was still breathing as they placed him on his side. A moment later, McLeod let go a loud sigh, his last natural breath.

A vitals check showed no heart beat and no breath.

It took four officers to carry the big man's body down the stairs where they waited for the paramedics to arrive (see story above).

A coroner's report stated the cause of death as a cocaine overdose, but the jury members may find a different cause.

They must categorize the death as natural or unnatural. If they decide he did not die of natural causes, then they must determine if it was a homicide, a suicide, or an accidental death.

"This is not a trial,” presiding coroner Julius Debuschewitz told the jury. "No one stands accused of a crime, and it is not your job to lay blame.”

The jury can decide the death was a homicide without implying fault, he said.

The jury is also invited to make recommendations, although they are not binding.

"Your recommendations must be reasonable and practical,” the coroner said, "...with a view to preventing future deaths.”

The jury returned to their deliberation room at 11 a.m. and will not be allowed to go home until they have come to a conclusion.

See Monday's Star for story on jury's recommendations.