RCMP complaints commission starts probe into Silverfox death

The national commission that reviews complaints against police started a full investigation Monday into the death of a Yukon man while in RCMP custody.

The RCMP Public Complaints Commission has already sent an observer to Whitehorse to watch how RCMP are investigating the death of Raymond Silverfox, 43, in a Whitehorse RCMP cell on Dec. 2.

Silverfox had been in custody for about 12 hours, after police arrested him early that morning at the local Salvation Army shelter. Witnesses said he appeared extremely intoxicated at the time.

That Silverfox may have been intoxicated has led Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Ottawa-based RCMP Public Complaints Commission, to launch his own investigation into Silverfox's death.

"The chair has a significant number of concerns, and one of those has to with the amount of deaths in custody," commission spokesman Kevin Brosseau told CBC News on Monday.

"It's an opportunity for him, under the current legislation, to initiate a review, a broad-based review of that."

In announcing the investigation Monday, Kennedy cited an RCMP report that stated more than 70 per cent of in-custody deaths involve people using drugs, alcohol or both prior to being jailed.

Shortly after Silverfox died, Kennedy had sent an independent observer to Whitehorse to monitor the RCMP's internal investigation, to ensure it was conducted in a fair and impartial manner.

Brosseau said the observer's initial report indicates that the police were carrying out an impartial investigation.

Now that it has launched a full probe, the commission has the authority to direct the RCMP officers who are looking into Silverfox's death.

A member of the RCMP will investigate Silverfox's death, then Kennedy will review the findings of that investigation, Brosseau said. Kennedy can then accept the investigation's findings, or launch another one, he added.

Preliminary autopsy results show that Silverfox had a pre-existing lung condition, but it's not known if that was a factor in his death, Yukon chief coroner Sharon Hanley said. A coroner's inquest into the death will be held in 2009.

But a national group is echoing Yukon NDP MLA John Edzerza's call for a full public inquiry.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation also says a public inquiry is needed, especially given Silverfox becomes the fourth aboriginal person to die in Yukon RCMP custody since 1999.

After the three previous incidents, coroner's inquests have recommended, among other things, medical training for RCMP officers.

"If there have been three inquests to date, why do we keep repeating the same problems and having similar incidents? It begs the question," said Ayman Al Yassini, the foundation's executive director.

Al Yassini said a public inquiry has a wider mandate than an inquest, and could explore various factors leading up to a death.

Yukon Justice Minister Marian Horne has said she has confidence in the RCMP's investigation. An RCMP spokesman said they cannot comment until they have completed their work.