The BC Coroners Service has scheduled an inquest into the death of Chilliwack’s Lindsey Harvey Gauthier.
The inquest will be held at the Burnaby Coroners’ Court starting Feb. 1.
Inquests are mandatory for any death that occurs while a person was detained by or in the custody of a peace officer, as Gauthier was when he died April 6, 2016.
The 45-year-old was a well-known local Realtor who struggled with addiction.
Police were called to the Uptown Grill near Five Corners around 7:20 that morning after receiving reports of an angry and agitated man causing a disturbance. Two officers arrived at the restaurant, and found Gauthier outside. As they arrested him, he went into medical distress, and the officers started CPR.
Paramedics arrived and took Gauthier to Chilliwack General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
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Investigators from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. collected evidence at the scene and interviewed the officers and civilian witnesses.
The inquest will now see that evidence presented to Tiara Stiglich, presiding coroner, along with a jury. They will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances. They will not be making any finding of legal responsibility or expressing any conclusion of law.
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Any recommendations that come from the inquest will help bring peace of mind to Gauthier’s wife, Angie Gauthier, who wanted her husband to be remembered for his “loving heart and generous soul.”
“His addiction was the saddest thing we as a family had experienced, knowing how intelligent and kind he was, this was not how he wanted to be,” she said following his death. “It is a real disease that many families deal with and it did not exclude us.”
During COVID-19, inquests are being live-streamed at www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/life-events/death/coroners-service/inquest-schedule-jury-findings-verdicts/inquestlivestream
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