The BC Coroners Service inquest into the death of Lindsey Harvey Gauthier on a downtown Chilliwack street more than four years ago begins today, Feb. 1.
The five-day inquest scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. is being held at the Burnaby Coroners’ Court.
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 addictions.
Police were called to the Uptown Grill east of Five Corners around 7:20 a.m. on that day 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.
READ MORE: IIOBC investigates in-custody death in Chilliwack
Investigators from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. collected evidence at the scene and interviewed the officers and civilian witnesses.
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 via the government’s website. See www.theprogress.com for updates as the inquest proceeds.
– with files from Eric Welsh
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