Police Not Told Dying Man’s Call Was 9-1-1 Request
Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 13:34
The RCMP have concluded their investigation into the death of a man who died near Waskesiu last year.
Lindsay Armitage, 46, was discovered in the woods on Dec. 5, 2008.
Inspector Randy McGinnis says he hasn’t read the coroner’s report, but it appears Armitage suffered a fatal heart attack.
Before he died, however, Armitage did manage to make a 9-1-1 call before he died, asking for help.
McGinnis says Armitage was asked on the phone whether or not he wanted the police, fire or ambulance.
He says Armitage replied that we wanted the police, so the call was transferred from the provincial dispatch centre to the RCMP’s operational communications centre.
However, McGinnis says, the officers who responded to the call weren’t told it was a 9-1-1 emergency.
He says things might have turned out differently if officers had been aware of that.
“Obviously the person’s calling as a result of the 9-1-1, and at the time, this could have been a prank. We weren’t aware of that (9-1-1 call), and this came in as a regular call to our dispatch centre, and it was dispatched in that light,” McGinnis says.
McGinnis says the RCMP is still looking at the matter internally, and disciplinary action might be taken against someone.
However, he also says that information will likely not be released to the public any time soon.