Yukon inquest probes man's death in custody

People who knew Raymond Silverfox, a Yukon man who died in RCMP custody in December 2008, were among the first witnessesto testify Thursday at a coroner's inquest looking intohis death.

Silverfox, 43, was in Whitehorse on his days off from working at a Carmacks mine when on Dec. 2, he was arrested at the Salvation Army shelter early that morning. Shelter staff have said Silverfox was intoxicated at the time.

Silverfoxwas then detained in the RCMP's detachment cells, where officers foundhim unresponsive about 12 hours later. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The six-member inquest panel began their work Thursday by touring the RCMP's cells in Whitehorse.

Had kidney trouble, panel told

Witnesses then told the inquest panel that Silverfox was normally not a heavy drinker, but he occasionally went binge drinking.

A friend of Silverfox, Ray Hartling, testified that Silverfox had been celebrating his birthday at a party the day before he died. Silverfox was drinking vodka that evening, Hartling said.

Hartling also said Silverfox had complained of coughing up blood a few weeks before his death.Silverfox explained that he had been beaten up and kicked in the kidneys, Hartling said.

Silverfox's employer, Anthony Erith, testified that he urged Silverfox to see a nurse. Silverfox later told his boss he had received medication for his kidneys.

Erith described Silverfox as a hard-working man who did mechanical and plumbing work for the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation.

The panel will hear testimony from a total of 33 witnesses over the next seven days, including Salvation Army staff, paramedics, RCMP officers, and a doctor who saw Silverfox at Whitehorse General Hospital.

Inquest mandatory: coroner

A coroner's inquesthas beenautomatically triggered in the case of Silverfox, since he died in police custody, Yukon coroner Sharon Hanley said.

"It's mandatory under the Coroner's Act that in-custody deaths, that they go to inquest," Hanley told CBC News on Wednesday.

Hanley said the inquest will look at the circumstances surrounding a death, not to assign blame or find fault.

After the inquest panel hears all the testimony, it will issue recommendations to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future, if warranted, she said.

"It's a means for satisfying the community that the circumstances surrounding a death won't be overlooked," Hanley said.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP launched its own investigation of Silverfox's death and is expected to finish that review in a couple of months, spokesperson Kate McDerby told CBC News.

McDerby said the commission, an independent national police watchdog agency, will monitor the coroner's inquest.