Solomon Uyarasuk inquest: Nurse describes scene at RCMP detachment

A nurse on duty the night Solomon Uyarasuk died in cells at the Igloolik RCMP detachment testified today at the coroner's inquest into Uyarasuk's death. The inquest is underway in Igloolik, Nunavut. 

Twenty-six-year-old Uyarasuk was pronounced dead after he was taken into police custody in 2012.

Shane Collier, the community nurse who was on call that night, says he went to the RCMP station when he was called, though nurses prefer to have patients brought to the health centre.

He arrived to find a scene he was not expecting: Uyarasuk naked on the floor with a belt around his neck and hooked to the door.  

Collier says he ran to find some scissors, and spent the next 20 minutes trying to resuscitate Uyarasuk.

But Uyarasuk was unresponsive and had no pulse.

Collier says his pupils were fixed, which could indicate he had already died before the nurse got there.

The inquest jury also heard from Paul Hedges, a guard called to the detachment that morning.

He testified that an RCMP officer told him on the phone that the prisoner had been violent or aggressive with police.

The officer told the guard they removed all of Uyarasuk's clothes, but could not remove his belt or a ring.

Hedges, who's trained as a paramedic, arrived in time to help with CPR, but Uyarasuk could not be revived.