B.C. coroner's jury calls for more mental-health supports for released inmates
Jury looked into death of James Butters, 24, who was shot and killed by police in Port Hardy in 2015
A coroner's jury has recommended that inmates in British Columbia get the medication and mental-health resources they need when they are released.
The jury looked into the death of 24-year-old James Butters, also known as James Hayward, who was shot and killed by police during a confrontation in Port Hardy on Vancouver Island in July 2015.
Police said officers responded to reports of a man threatening security at a staging area located at a high school for workers battling wildfires. The suspect was brandishing a knife.
The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.'s police watchdog, said two officers issued repeated commands for the man to drop a knife he was holding. It says he was shot when he ran at officers.
The office reviewed the shooting in 2017 and said it didn't believe any police officer committed an offence.
Butters' family said the 24-year-old had run out of his medication, prescribed while in custody, just days before the incident.
The jury made seven recommendations, including that prescription medications "related to the inmate's safety and wellbeing" are given to them upon release and that the provincial government assume responsibility for arranging psychiatric assessments before they are freed.
The jury also recommended that the Ministry of Public Safety ensure all police officers complete mandatory crisis intervention and de-escalation training (CID). The officer who shot Butters testified during the inquest that he hadn't finished that training due to a heavy workload.
Norah Hayward, Butters' aunt, wonders if her nephew would still be alive if the officer had made it a priority to take the course which all B.C. police officers are expected to complete.
"Even when [the officer] went up to be a witness [in court], he still — four years later — had not had his mandatory CID training," she told Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On the Coast. "I think if it was implemented, who knows what could have happened."
Still, Hayward said Wednesday she felt "pretty positive" about the jury's recommendations.
"I want to believe that these recommendations will make a difference to somebody and will save a life out there at some point."
With files from The Canadian Press