The RCMP should review its policies and procedures regarding the movement of prisoners, a coroner's jury recommended Monday afternoon.

The three men and three women of the jury returned with four recommendations. They had heard five days of testimony surrounding the 2003 death of 37-year-old Heather Benson, who died in handcuffs after being thrown from the police car she was being transported in.

Benson died of 'multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident consistent with being ejected from a vehicle and rolled over,' the jury found.

The mother of two was taken from her home in the early hours of Sept. 27, 2003 by Const. Jeff Monkman. He had obtained a search warrant to check Benson's Tagish home on a suspicion that marijuana was being grown inside.

While enroute to Whitehorse, Monkman's cruiser left the Carcross Road in the area of Lewes Lake and rolled into the southbound ditch. Benson was ejected from the car.

Monkman, who hadn't slept for almost 20 hours at the time of the crash, was convicted last February of careless driving and fined $1,000 under the Motor Vehicle Act.,

The officer was assigned to administrative duties for a time, but returned to active duty within several months.

Benson's family is suing Monkman and the Attorney General of Canada.

The coroner's jury recommended:

ï To the RCMP We recommend that there be a review of safety policies and procedures regarding officer fatigue, operation of equipment and prisoner transport taking into consideration Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and workers compensation policies and regulations and the need for frequent safety training.

ï To the RCMP We recommend the RCMP investigate the feasibility of installing low-light cameras with displays on the dash that enable police driving vehicles to monitor prisoners in the rear at night without the need to perform shoulder checks.

ï To the RCMP or Department of Justice That efforts be made to increase public awareness of the need for sufficient numbers of guards and matrons in rural detachments.

ï To the coroner That in future inquests, an explanation or glossary of legal terms be made available to the jury early in the proceedings.

RCMP spokesman Guy Rook said this morning the internal review into the Benson death and surrounding circumstances has not been completed, and was awaiting recommendations from the inquest.

It will take time for the mounted police to review and digest the recommendations, he said.

Rook said at this point, however, the RCMP will not be commenting on whether specific changes have been made to policies and procedures as a result of the Benson death.

Commenting on specifics, said Rook, could affect the civil suit. As a matter of course, recommendations from the jury will be reviewed for their practicality, feasibility and viability, he pointed out.

'We do require some time to look at these recommendations,' he said.

Expert testimony called by the Crown during the inquest, and at the trial last year, suggested that Monkman, having worked a 20-hour day, may have fallen asleep. Other expert testimony called by Monkman's lawyer said there was no conclusive evidence one way or the other.

Monkman testified he was looking back over his shoulder to check on Benson when he felt his car leave the road. He tried to correct the situation but ended up out of control and hitting the ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Questions were raised at the inquest about police policy involving the use of seat belts for prisoners being transported by police.

While the use of seat belts is generally encouraged by arresting officers, it is not general practice to belt prisoners in because of the danger officers can expose themselves to while leaning over the suspect.

Monkman and fellow officer Const. Derek Turner told inquest jurors that though Benson was handcuffed in front of her body, she could indeed have belted herself in.

There have also been questions inside the courtroom, and outside by members of Benson's community, about why there was a pressing need to arrest a longtime Tagish resident and displace her children at 3:30 in the morning.

Retired Sgt. Dan Otterbein, the detachment commander for Carcross at the time of the accident, told the inquest that had he been informed of the decision to arrest Benson in the middle of the night, matters may have unfolded differently.

In his decision last February, territorial court deputy judge Cunliffe Barnett found Monkman did not understand his legal authority to release Benson.

The judge noted in his decision that Monkman and Turner did not understand their authority under the law to release Benson without having to come to Whitehorse.

He said it was clear more senior officers were also less than knowledgeable about matters related to the situation.

'If that is still the case, I expect that corrective measures will be taken forthwith.

Barnett wrote in his 10-page decision that Monkman likely fell asleep at the wheel.

The judge said he could not second-guess what Monkman would have done that night even if he had been aware of his authority to release Benson.

Barnett said, however, that Monkman knew Benson as a local resident with no danger of fleeing.

'I find it difficult to believe that he would not have released her: she was, after all, only to be charged with cultivating a decidedly small number of marijuana plants,' Barnett wrote in his decision.

The judge and others noted during sentencing, however, that Monkman has been an exemplary police officer with an strong track record of community involvement and working with youth.

Taxpayers have paid for Ed Horembala to represent Monkman's during the trial and inquest. Rook said any inquiries about what has been paid to date would have to go through the Privacy Act.

He was not able to say what has been spent so far on the civil matter either.