The Saskatchewan government has announced that a public inquest into the death of a man in a Saskatoon jail cell will be held next month.

Randal Nicotine was found unresponsive in a cell at the Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre on May 14, 2019.

Medical staff attempted to resuscitate the 33-year-old but were unsuccessful and Nicotine was declared dead.

In Saskatchewan, under The Coroners Act, public inquests are mandatory whenever someone dies in a jail or a correctional facility as an inmate. The only exception is when the coroner believes the death to be of natural causes or not preventable.

Inquests are meant to establish who died, where they died and the medical cause and manner of the death. The jury is then able to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future. They are not criminal proceedings.

Before Nicotine's death, the 33-year-old was on remand in connection with charges that dated back to March 21, 2019.

Earlier that evening, RCMP responded to a complaint about an erratic driver on Highway 4 south of Battleford, Sask., according to an RCMP news release.

While responding, officers were advised the driver was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for parole violations.

A chase took place on grids roads and then onto Highway 4 heading north toward Battleford. RCMP officers were able to successfully deployed a spike belt which caused the suspect vehicle to stop.

The driver — who at the point was confirmed to be the man wanted on the warrant — allegedly fired a weapon at an RCMP officer. Police then returned fire.

The people in the vehicle were able to evade the RCMP by catching a ride in a different vehicle.

Nicotine was arrested a short time later during a traffic stop.

Police said at the time that no one had been injured in the incident.

Nicotine was charged with 10 offences, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assault and resisting arrest. Those charges were all withdrawn when he died.

The public inquest into Nicotine's death is scheduled to begin April 25 at 10 a.m. CST at the Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre in Saskatoon.

It is scheduled to be held through the entire week. It will be presided over by Coroner William Davern.