Inquest concluded with recommendations on strip search policies and training

Readers are advised that this story may be disturbing to some as it describes medical procedures, death, and sex acts.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – A one-week inquest into the death of a 23-year-old woman in Dawson Creek RCMP custody has concluded, with the jury providing three recommendations to RCMP. 

Jaime Hope was detained by Dawson Creek RCMP in the early morning hours of April 13th, 2019. She passed away the next day after being removed from the Dawson Creek precinct and being transported to hospital first in Dawson Creek and then to Prince George. 

Following Hope’s death, the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) launched an investigation into the actions of RCMP and medical personnel. 

The investigation was launched in the days following Hope’s passing and concluded in December 2019. 

Hope’s cause of death was concluded by post-mortem to be a methamphetamine overdose, and no wrongdoing by any party was confirmed as a result of the investigation. 

The B.C. Coroners Service announced the inquest on May 14th, intended to understand the circumstances of Hope’s passing in RCMP custody. 

The inquest began on June 17th and concluded on June 21st. The inquest was guided by presiding coroner Larry Marzinzik and inquest counsel Rolf Warburton.

Four days of witness, expert testimony, and jury deliberations yielded three recommendations for local and provincial law enforcement policies. 

Inquests are mandatory for all deaths that occur while the person is detained, in police custody, or if the public has an interest in being further informed about the death, according to the Coroners Act.

Arrested and detained

Jaime Hope and friend Ryan Bumstead were arrested and detained on April 13th after running from an attempted RCMP stop. 

Witness testimony from the three arresting officers during the inquest explained that the duo’s car later broke down and they were arrested and taken to the Dawson Creek Precinct.

During the first day of testimony, Bumstead testified that he and Hope had been using drugs in the car and that he knew she had a bag of methamphetamine in her possession at the start of the RCMP chase. 

One of the arresting officers was Constable Karlee Vanhie, a newly graduated RCMP officer still in her six-month on-the-job training at the time of Hope’s arrest. 

During the first day of witness testimony during the inquest, Vanhie stated she had escorted Hope to the precinct and performed a standard pat-down search, as well as a strip search. 

Later in the inquest, testimony from then-Staff Sargent Damon Werrell and current Staff Sargent Rob Hughes explained that strip searches are performed infrequently and that prospective RCMP officers receive no hands-on or in-the-field training. 

Vanhie received directions from a male RCMP officer down the hall from her while performing Hope’s strip search, as this was her first strip search ever.

When asked by the jury, Vanhie stated she did not remember asking Hope if she had consumed any illicit substances prior to her arrest, despite Hope being in a car where substances were found. 

Following the strip search, Hope was placed in a precinct cell, only leaving once for her phone call seeking legal counsel. 

During her time at the precinct, she was monitored by civilian guards Claudette Oullette and Donald Laythorpe. Oullette was on shift when Hope was initially brought in, and Laythorpe was on shift when Hope was removed by paramedics around 8 a.m. on April 13th. 

During her time monitoring Hope, Oullette testified she had not seen any abnormal behaviour from Hope. 

Laythorpe, however, testified that during his shift he saw Hope put her hand down her pants and begin masturbating. While this itself was not unusual for some detainees, as this was Hope’s first time at the precinct, Laythorpe flagged her actions as suspicious to Sargent David Shawn Peddle, the officer in charge at the time.

During Laythorpe’s testimony, video recordings taken from cameras in Hope’s cell were reviewed, showing Hope removing what IIO investigators later confirmed to be a small bag with traces of a crystalline substance from her pants. 

Farther in the video, Hope was seen touching herself again and repeatedly moving her hand from her pants to her face. 

IIO investigator Adrian Wild testified during the inquest that during the IIO investigation, there were conversations about whether she was consuming drugs that were originally in the bag Hope removed from inside herself. Investigators were unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion.

Later in the video footage, Hope was observed removing her pants entirely, prompting both Laythorpe and Peddle to visit Hope’s cell and check on her. 

When Hope did not respond to Laythorpe or Peddle’s requests for her to put her pants back on or react to their questions, paramedics were called to medically check her. 

Medical treatment

Taihler Webber, one of the paramedics in the responding ambulance, testified during the inquest that when she observed Hope she concluded Hope was under the influence of an illicit substance and required further medical care. 

Webber testified that once loaded into the ambulance, Hope’s heart stopped, and paramedics performed CPR during the drive to the hospital. 

When they arrived at the emergency department, Hope’s heart was able to be restarted, and medical professionals administered an ineffective dose of Naloxone in an attempt to stop Hope’s overdose.

Emergency department physician Dr. Cornelia Popa testified that medical staff were able to restore Hope’s heart rate six minutes after her arrival at the hospital. 

Medical staff immediately arranged to transfer her to Prince George for more intensive care, as is policy for patients who experience heart attacks. 

Dr. Popa explained this is due to the instability of the patient’s health after such an event and the fact that such patients can quickly deteriorate again.  

Hope arrived in Prince George by air approximately 10 hours after she was removed from the precinct. Dr. Ariana Hughes, one of the doctors who cared for her during her stay, also testified during the inquest. 

According to Dr. Hughes’ records, Hope’s condition was so severe by this time that she was unable to be moved from her bed for tests or scans, and was in multi-organ failure.

Medical staff including Dr. Hughes also noted they did not believe she would make it through the night. 

Early the following morning, Hope’s heart stopped again and was unable to be restarted despite several minutes of resuscitation efforts from medical staff. Hope was declared dead shortly after 1:30 a.m. on April 14th. 

A post-mortem was performed on Hope by Dr. Jason Doyle following her death as a part of the 2019 IIO investigation. 

During his testimony, Dr. Doyle confirmed Hope’s cause of death was ruled as a methamphetamine overdose, likely by ingestion. 

When asked in relation to the bag Hope was seen removing from herself in video surveillance on April 13th, Dr. Doyle confirmed he found no vessels or traces of illicit substances inside Hope during the post-mortem operation. 

Jury’s verdict

At the conclusion of the inquest, the jury returned from a day of deliberations to present three recommendations to the BC RCMP. 

The first recommendation was for the BC RCMP to formulate a policy requiring officers who authorize or conduct a strip search to ‘review current related RCMP procedure required in such search.’ 

The second recommendation, also directed towards the provincial RCMP division, was for the creation of a digital strip search training guide, specifying that the guide should include the positioning of a detainee’s body during the search. 

“Providing a visual aid will help ensure strip searches are completed to a consistent standard, instead of relying on verbal instructions from another member who cannot see the search as it is being conducted,” The jury stated. 

The third recommendation, directed specifically to Dawson Creek RCMP, was to emphasize more that civilian guards can ask for an additional guard if they feel one is necessary, regardless of the number of detainees in the precinct.