Inquest shows video of man dying in Manitoba RCMP cell in The Pas

The inquest into the death of John Ettawakapow began Monday with a video of the 54-year-old dying in an RCMP holding cell, showing him possibly smothered to death by a fellow detainee's leg. 

The 54-year-old died on Oct. 6, 2019, after RCMP detained him for public intoxication in The Pas, Man.

The inquest into Ettawakapow's death was called in accordance with Manitoba's Fatalities Inquiries Act, which requires an inquest whenever a person dies in police custody.

Security video from the cell where Ettawakapow died was played in court, showing officers carrying him into the cell at 7:10 p.m. on Oct. 5 and leaving him on the floor.

Two other men were also in the cells, lying on the floor. 

As the video played, John Stevenson, a retired investigator for Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit and the first witness to testify, walked the court through the video. 

Stevenson was the lead investigator in the police watchdog's probe into Ettawakapow's death, which ultimately cleared officers of any wrongdoing in February 2022. 

The cell's security video showed how at 8:13 p.m., one of the men moved and put his leg over Ettawakapow's neck. From that point, Ettawakapow is seen lifting his arm a few more times on camera, grabbing toward his neck.

By 8:20 p.m. all movement stops and Ettawakapow is not seen on the video moving again, testified Stevenson.

About 25 minutes later, the man is seen moving his leg off Ettawakapow's neck.

It is not until 1:30 a.m. before someone is seen physically checking Ettawakapow. One of the other detainees gets up and checks on Ettawakapow after being instructed to by a guard, testified Stevenson. RCMP policy says he should have been checked after no more than 15 minutes.

Paramedics are called, who attempt to revive Ettawakapow, but they eventually leave and the video ends with a lifeless Ettawakapow, alone in the cell.

"Did it bother you at all that no wellness check was done here on this man?" provincial court Judge Brian Colli asked Stevenson, who was a Winnipeg police officer for decades before he moved over to the Independent Investigation Unit.

Stevenson pointed to Winnipeg police policy, which is to house intoxicated people in Main Street Project's protective care facility, rather than a police holding cell. 

CBC first told Ettawakapow's story in 2021, as part of its death in custody project. It found that he was just one of dozens of Canadians who have died in custody after being arrested for public intoxication.

Ettawakapow's son Jeremy was present throughout the first day and has standing in the inquest, meaning he is allowed to ask the witnesses questions.

He plans to address the inquest at the end of the five days to tell the court what his father meant to him.

An inquest does not make a finding of criminal responsibility, but determines the circumstances surrounding the death and whether anything can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future. 

The inquest is scheduled to last until Friday in The Pas, with RCMP officers, civilian guards and Jamil Mahmood, the executive director of Main Street Project, expected to testify.

WATCH | Jeremy Ettawakapow talks about the impact of losing his father:

Jeremy Ettawakapow mourns his father who died in custody

3 years ago

Duration 0:54

Jeremy Ettawakapow, 33, wishes his father was still alive. His dad John (Dot Dot) Ettawakapow died in police custody October 6, 2019. He was 54. He had been drinking and passed out near a local business. Police were called and he was detained for being intoxicated. He died in the jail cell.