Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., needs ambulance, sobering centre, inquest hears

The coroner's inquest into the 2021 death of Sylvia Panaktalok continued in its second day Wednesday, with jurors hearing about the need for a place other than RCMP cells to bring people who are intoxicated.

Panaktalok died in police custody in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., after being picked up outside her cousin's house where she had passed out on the stairs after a night of drinking, the inquest heard earlier this week.

Tuktoyaktuk, a hamlet of just over 1,000 people, does not have a sobering centre.

The civilian guard who was on duty the night Panaktalok died said Wednesday it's common to see intoxicated people in the cells. He estimated three quarters of the people who go into RCMP custody while he works are intoxicated.

The guard still works at the detachment and said he has since gotten more training to recognize the signs of heavy intoxication and shares that information with new trainees.

Sgt. Chris MacDonald was the RCMP officer in charge who was on duty that night. He said alcohol is frequently involved in calls to the detachment.

Both MacDonald and the guard agreed the hamlet needs an ambulance to assist with medical needs.

During the testimony to the jury, MacDonald told the court that in his 20 years and 10 postings with the RCMP, he has never seen conditions like in Tuktoyaktuk.

"It's like nothing I've ever encountered before," said MacDonald.

MacDonald said on any given day, the officers in that hamlet are expected to do the work of bylaw officers, family and child services officials and ambulance drivers. During his time in the community, he performed CPR four times — more than he'd done in all his other years of policing.

He echoed the need for trained emergency personnel because RCMP officers are doing work outside of their roles as enforcers of the law.

Inuvik Staff Sgt. Jesse Aubin also spoke Wednesday about the policies in place for prisoner protection while in RCMP custody.

Aubin said people should not be brought to the RCMP detachment just because they're intoxicated.

"Highly intoxicated people do not belong in RCMP cells," Aubin told the room.

"It is not a criminal act to use substances. Unless they are a criminal or dangerous, they should not be in an RCMP cell."

Aubin questioned the role of the RCMP in those situations where there is no threat of violence and a person is highly intoxicated.

"Should the RCMP be involved at all?" he asked the room. "The police are not the best agency to respond to that, quite frankly."

All witnesses agreed a sobering centre or safe space could help the community.

The inquest is scheduled to end Thursday. The six-person jury is expected to determine when and how Panaktalok died, and may issue recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths in the future.