Inquest into RCMP-related death to begin in June

A coroner's inquest into the death of an American man shot by the RCMP in the B.C. Interior two years ago will begin June 2.

Donald Dwayne Lewis, 43, died on Aug. 13, 2006, following an altercation with a Williams Lake RCMP officer near McLeese Lake, off Highway 97.

Presiding coroner Shane DeMeyer and a jury will hear evidence from subpoenaed witnesses to determine the facts surrounding the death.

The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

Darlene Sabatelli, Lewis's mother, told CBC News she cannot afford to travel from Iowa to the inquest, which will be held in Williams Lake.

Sabatelli said no one from the RCMP or the B.C. government offered any financial help to bring her son's body home and it cost her $6,000 to do that.

Terry Foster, a public affairs officer with the B.C. Coroner's Service, said the coroner's office only pays the travel and living expenses of people who are called to testify at the inquest — not members of the victim's family.

The inquest is expected to last two weeks. It was initially scheduled for November 2007 but was adjourned at the request of Lewis's family.

RCMP said Lewis was shot by a rookie officer during a violent struggle. The officer, responding to a report of a man camping illegally near McLeese Lake, suffered head and hand injuries.