Sahpassum Inquest Recommendations Remain On Shelf
Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 15:14
Officials with the Prince Albert Police Service and the Victoria Hospital say they have closely reviewed the findings of a coroner’s inquest into the death of an Aboriginal woman, but neither organization has agreed to follow the recommendations of a jury studying the case.
Linda Sahpassum suffered a fatal head injury on August 3rd, 2004 after falling backward in the parking garage of the police department.
Officers had picked the Big River band member up after receiving a complaint of an intoxicated woman at the Victoria Hospital.
However, a coroner’s inquest determined the 48-year-old was suffering from extremely low blood sugar and was not drunk when she was taken into custody.
The coroner’s jury recommended two measures be taken at the police department to ensure similar tragedies didn’t occur again — the installation of surveillance cameras in the parking garage and requiring officers to escort prisoners who are in custody.
Police chief Dale McFee says they have studied the proposals carefully, but at this point, they don’t plan to implement them.
Meanwhile, Victoria Hospital spokesman Doug Dahl says the hospital has a problem with the recommendation that hospital staff check a patient’s medical history when admitted into the triage area.
Dahl says the suggestion is troublesome because the hospital sees roughly 36,000 patients a year and has no electronic system.
He also contends the case in question concerns a different matter than what the proposal indicates.
Both the hospital and the police service maintain they have noted the event and will make changes if they are deemed feasible.