Unconscious native man should not have been left alone in alley, inquiry told

Vancouver policeshould not haveleft Frank Paul alone and unconscious in wet clothes in an alley where he was later found dead, a witness said Fridayat a public inquiry into the death of the First Nations man.

"We have a responsibility as service providers to make sure the person is received and discharged in a way that's safe [and] in a way that's respectful," said Barry Conroy, who used to be a driver with Saferide, a Vancouver Coastal Health program that helps transport people on the street.

Paul, a former resident of the Big Cove First Nation in New Brunswick, died in 1998 of hypothermia because of exposure due to alcohol intoxication.

Duringtestimony at the Vancouver inquiry, Conroy said he came into contact with Paul several times a week from 1996 to 1998 and knew the man was homeless.

A video recording shown at the inquiry depicted a limp Paul being dragged into an elevator at the police station the second time he arrived there on Dec. 5, 1998, his soaking-wet clothes leaving a mark on the floor.

Conroy said it's obvious Paul needed medical attention.

"If a person is totally unconscious, it's probably not the best thing to drag him around," Conroy told Steven Kelliher, the lawyer representing Paul's family, after viewing the recording.

Conroy, now a drug and alcohol counsellor, said a person in Paul's condition should never have been left outside.

"He could possibly die."

The inquiry was also shown a video of Paul crawling on his hands and knees as he was brought into the police station the first time on the morning of Dec. 5.

The video shows him eating potato chips and dressing himself before he apparently crawls out of the police station the first time he was there.

Meanwhile, ambulance paramedic James Douglas told the inquiry that he saw Paul in a Downtown Eastside alley on Dec. 5 and offered to take him to a detox centre, but that Paul refused.

About an hour later, police picked Paul up in a paddy wagon and transported him to the drunk tank.

However, under cross-examination by lawyer Cameron Ward, who represents the United Native Nations Society, Douglas testified that he wasn't sure the man he'd seen in the alley and known since 1994 was Paul.

Earlier Friday, about two dozen people rallied outside the inquiry, saying the public needs to be aware of how aboriginal people are treated.Some held signs saying "No More Police Violence" and "Justice for Frank Paul."