The head of the Yukon's Mounties offered a public apology today for the RCMP's treatment of Raymond Silverfox, the Carmacks man who died in police custody in December 2008 in Whitehorse.

"The RCMP sincerely regrets the death of Mr. Silverfox, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family,” Supt. Peter Clark said in a press release issed this morning.

"I am shocked, as are many members of the RCMP, and disappointed that Mr. Silverfox had to endure insensitive and callous treatment while in RCMP custody.

"There is no doubt that in our care and handling of Mr. Silverfox, we have failed to respect and live up to the standards and values that not only Yukoners, but all Canadians expect us to meet.

"We have failed you, and we have failed ourselves.”

The comments come on the heels of a coroner's inquest into the 43-year-old man's death; an inquest which revealed gruesome details of the conditions Silverfox endured in the final hours of his life.

He was left to lie unattended in a bare cell while an infection, likely caused by the vomit which covered the cell floor, raged through his body.

The only attention he was given for the first 13 hours of his stay came in the form of insults and laughter from the guards and officers whose job it is to care for prisoners.

Had it not been for an audio surveillance system in the guard room and cell block of the Whitehorse RCMP detachment, the so-called "shocking” details of Silverfox's final hours may never have come to light.

Although the video images show the guards and officers never gave Silverfox clean clothes or moved him to a clean cell during his 13-hour ordeal, the images do not show the extent of their behaviour.

During the inquest, counsel for the coroner Lee Kirkpatrick told the jury the existence of an audio recording was discovered more than a year after Silverfox died.

Whitehorse is one of the few detachments in Canada with both audio and video surveillance; most RCMP cell blocks only record on silent video, if at all. No explanation has been given of how or why the tapes came to light.

For the most part, guards and officers who appeared at the inquest said they couldn't remember what was said in the cell block that day.

Some denied ever making the comments shown on the transcript of the surveillance tape.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Don Rogers said today the evidence brought forward in the inquest is being reviewed to determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against any of the officers.

One code-of-conduct investigation is already underway, Rogers confirmed. That information was made public during the inquest, when Const. Geoff Corbett admitted to mocking and swearing at Silverfox when he asked for a mat to lay on.

Meanwhile, Const. Jeff Kalles denied making a comment about Silverfox eating his own vomit, and Const. Dennis Connelly denied calling the man "Poopy, poopy. McPoopy”.

Since Silverfox's death, Kalles has been promoted to head provost officer, making him the senior person working in the cell block.

Rogers said he cannot comment on the conduct of any specific officers at this time.

"We are examining the actions of our employees, the corrective steps already taken and our existing policies and procedures to prevent this type of situation from happening again,” he wrote in this morning's press release.

He also noted the RCMP are considering the recommendations made by the coroner's jury. Those recommendations are that the RCMP:

• establish a community consultative group which will include first nations, the medical community, Yukon government and the Salvation Army to review the issue of public intoxication and provide possible alternatives to incarceration and speak to the medical care of intoxicated persons in the Yukon;

• ensure regular joint health and safety committee meetings are held monthly and include a guard representative; and

• increase the number of guards working in the cell block.

The jury also recommended the Commissionaires, the contractor which hires and trains the cell block guards, offer their employees more training and higher wages.

Both issues were raised during the inquest. A number of witnesses said it is hard to recruit enough guards to the job.

Discrepancies in training, policy and practice were also revealed, especially as to how often guards are required to check on prisoners, and whether they are responsible for cleaning the cells.

The Commissionaires contract with the RCMP expires next year and a higher wage could be negotiated, a representative of the non-profit company said today.

Rogers said the RCMP have not spoken with anyone from the Commissionaires regarding this case.