During the second day of a coroner’s inquest into the death of Sylvia Panaktalok, jurors heard from a jail guard, police officers and healthcare professionals.
Sylvia was a mother to eight and grandmother of six who passed away on July 31, 2021 at the age of 54 while in RCMP custody in Tuktoyaktuk.
Six jurors at the inquest, which is taking place in Inuvik, are tasked with determining when, where and by what means Sylvia died. They may also make recommendations to prevent similar future deaths.
On Wednesday morning, the cell guard who was working the night Sylvia was brought to the Tuktoyaktuk detachment testified that she appeared more intoxicated than usual and was “almost incoherent.”
Officers had arrested Sylvia for public intoxication under the Liquor Act and brought her to the detachment after 10pm to provide her a safe place to stay. They said that was not an uncommon practice in the community and they would release people from custody without charge once they were sober.
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Video showed the guard checking the window of Sylvia’s cell roughly every 15 minutes, which the jury heard is the minimum requirement under RCMP policy. When checking on her at 11:06pm, the guard could be seen doubling back and bending down to open the tray slot of the cell door to check that Sylvia was breathing.
After checking on her again at 11:24pm, the guard said Sylvia did not appear to be responsive and he notified the officers in the detachment. He testified that guards are not allowed to enter an inmate’s cell, unless in case of a fire, due to safety reasons.
“At that point, I was getting very concerned about her,” he said.
At 11:27pm, two RCMP officers could be seen arriving to check on Sylvia. They later performed CPR and took Sylvia to the health centre where, following attempts at life-saving treatment, she was pronounced dead shortly before midnight.
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‘Not even the same job’
Jurors on Wednesday also heard from the former detachment commander for Tuktoyaktuk and the current detachment commander for Inuvik.
The former Tuktoyaktuk commander, who said he has 20 years’ policing experience, testified that working in the community was unique due to the gap in other services, such as the lack of an ambulance. As a result, he said, RCMP were required to transport people to the health centre and help nursing staff with duties such as performing CPR.
“It’s just not even the same job,” he said of working as a police officer in Tuktoyaktuk compared to elsewhere.
The officer said when he worked in the community, he spoke with Tuktoyaktuk’s senior administrative officer about the lack of ambulance service and was told it was an issue the community had raised with the NWT government. He then wrote a briefing note to the RCMP in the hope it would be addressed at a higher level, but said he never received a written response as requested.
The Inuvik detachment commander spoke about RCMP policies in Tuktoyaktuk as well as across the NWT and Canada. Many of those policies lay out requirements for assessing the responsiveness of people in RCMP custody, as well as rules for guarding prisoners.
Officers who were working at the Tuktoyaktuk detachment on July 31, 2021, testified on Tuesday that they were unfamiliar with some of those policies. The Inuvik commander said it is the duty of detachment commanders to ensure that officers understand all policies in place.
‘Highly intoxicated people do not belong in RCMP cells’
The commander said while it is common practice in some NWT communities for highly intoxicated people to be brought to police cells for safety, he does not believe that’s where they belong or that RCMP are the best agency to respond.
“It is not a criminal act to use substances,” he said.
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“We as communities need to decide where best to house these individuals.”
The nurse in charge at the Tuktoyaktuk health centre testified about the night that officers brought Sylvia to the emergency room. She said nurses in the community often rely on RCMP for help as “there’s only so many hands” and nurses are not allowed to respond to medical calls outside the health centre.
She said having an ambulance and first responders in the community would be helpful. She added that the lack of culturally appropriate addictions treatment and aftercare supports in Tuktoyaktuk also poses a challenge to addressing issues with alcohol.
A representative for the NWT Health and Social Services Authority said nurses are not permitted to respond to calls outside health centres as nurses and doctors are not first responders. She said the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will work with communities that request ambulance service.
Finally, the inquest heard from one of the Calgary Police Service detectives who investigated Sylvia’s death.
He said he viewed it not as a criminal investigation, but an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. He said investigators provided evidence to the public prosecution service, which decided not to pursue criminal charges.
The inquest is expected to conclude on Thursday.
