Edward James Waddell

Image Credit: Springfield Funeral Home

A B.C. Coroners Service jury has recommended more training and oversight for RCMP detachment cell guards after an inquest into the death of a man who died of an overdose in Kelowna RCMP detachment cells.

Edward James Waddell was 40 years old when he was taken into custody at the old Kelowna RCMP detachment in 2017.

He was arrested March 31 for driving while intoxicated and was found dead in his cell the next morning.

The BC Coroners Service held an inquest at Kelowna Provincial Court last month, where it heard testimony from witnesses, investigators and Waddell's family.

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Coroners already determined the cause of his death was a fentanyl overdose, but a jury was tasked to make recommendations to avoid any more deaths like his while in custody.

The jury made several recommendations for RCMP and the province to prevent in-custody deaths like his from happening again, including the formation of an independent oversight agency for municipal staff at city cells.

The inquest heard that an officer at the scene suspected Waddell was high on opioids while attending a collision on McCulloch Road. Neither the paramedic who attended the scene nor the RCMP officer suggested he was overdosing at the time.

After first refusing medical attention, Waddell said he was in pain and wanted to see a doctor once he was in custody. However, an emergency department doctor found no obvious signs of injuries while he was there, around 8 p.m.

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He was returned to City cells on Doyle Avenue around 11 p.m., where he changed into an orange inmate's jumpsuit. Police searched him, but it was non-invasive, indicating that it's possible he stashed fentanyl for himself and brought it into his cell.

Although they were under surveillance at all times, it wasn't until his cellmate found Waddell unresponsive and called the guards that they found out he was dead.

The jury issued seven recommendations, three of those are for the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

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Along with the formation of the independent oversight body, they recommended formal criminal justice training for municipal lock-up staff and to put an end to intermittent sentences served in municipal detachments.

Police in BC already have an oversight body with the Independent Investigations Office of BC, which was created in 2012 to investigate police-involved serious injuries and deaths. It does not, however, oversee municipal staff like bylaw officers and cell guards.

The jury also recommended BC RCMP investigate technology that will help monitor vital signs of people in custody, like thermal imaging or Fitbits.

They suggested expanding the practice of on-site RCMP to supervise municipal cells, improving training for searches and standardizing the appropriate level of search when a person is impaired.

The jury issued its verdict on June 21 and it's available online here.

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