Police watchdog finds Kamloops RCMP not responsible for in-custody death

A report from B.C.'s police watchdog says the Kamloops RCMP and the civilian guard on duty when a man died in his cell at a local detachment were not at fault for his death.

On March 12, 2019, police arrested Randy Lampreau, for being intoxicated in public. Early the next morning he died while in custody. 

Using surveillance footage and logbook evidence, the report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) found that there was no inappropriate use of force by the police or the guard on duty that night.

The report found the cells were monitored appropriately, with the guard checking on the cells regularly throughout the night.

Shortly before 1 a.m., when the guard saw on the cell video that Lampreau had fallen backwards onto the floor, the guard checked on him, put him on his side and was reassured by him that he was not injured, the report said.

The guard then checked on him again an hour later. After 3 a.m. when he had laid down, the guard said he continued to check on him every 15 minutes either by video or through the cell door window.

In the report, the guard told investigators that shortly before 6 a.m., he turned on the light in Lampreau's cell when he noticed he hadn't moved in a while. The guard reported the man's "colour wasn't right" so he called an RCMP officer who then "immediately" called paramedics.

A report from the B.C. Coroners Service to the IIO said Lampreau died from inflammation in his heart muscles, which can cause sudden death. It also said methamphetamine toxicity was another contributing factor and the levels in his system were "in the lethal range."

The report also found that he had other serious medical conditions and there were "no significant injuries."

"The actions of police during his time in custody were reasonable and fell well within the standard of care expected," chief civilian director Ronald MacDonald wrote in the IIO report.

Smudging ceremony 

Kamloops RCMP Supt. Syd Leckie told Daybreak Kamloops' Jennifer Chrumka, the report confirms police didn't play a role in Lampreau's death.

"Whatever stresses and concerns that our members may have had in the background that's taken away and they're able to move on," Leckie said.

To help with the healing process, the police agreed to have a smudging ceremony at the request of Lampreau's family, who are Indigenous.

"It was something that was important to me and certainly the family so we were able to do that in this particular case," said Leckie, who is also Indigenous. "I think that it was the right thing to do and certainly appreciated by everyone."

"I know the family were grateful because they expressed that to me after," he added. "It was important for them and that's all that matters."

'Not qualified'

Regina Basil, Lampreau's older sister, believes her brother would still be alive if he had gone to a sober facility instead of a jail cell.

Basil said the RCMP officers at the local detachment are not as capable as health professionals when it comes to recognizing someone in medical distress.

"They are not qualified to watch over human life," said Basil, who is concerned her brother was not checked on regularly enough while in custody.

"If he had gone to a sober house ... they could have swabbed him for drug use then had something to monitor," she said.

Micheal Vonn, policy director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, also wants people apprehended for intoxication to go to a sober house, so their cases can be treated as a public health problem instead of a criminal one.

Vonn said such places do exist in Surrey and Vancouver, and if Lampreau had access to one health professionals could have caught how much methamphetamine was in his system and helped accordingly.