Kamloops, B.C. [April 11]—The BC Coroners Service will begin its inquest today into the 2014 death of Jacob Setah, an 18-year-old Aboriginal youth who died after falling from the parkade at Royal Inland Hospital.
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Setah had been committed under the Mental Health Act and jumped to his death after police attempted to apprehend him with the use of a taser when he escaped the hospital and climbed to the ledge of the parkade. The Inquest will investigate the accessibility of mental health services in rural communities, hospital facilities used for detention of youth under the Mental Health Act, and police involvement and de-escalation techniques in crisis situations.
The Inquest is estimated to last three days. A jury presides over the Inquest and will release its findings and recommendations at the end of the Inquest.
Doug King, police accountability lawyer with Pivot Legal Society, will be representing the Yunesit’in (Stone) First Nation, where Jacob Setah grew up, and is available for comment.
What: BC Coroners Service Inquest into death of Jabob Setah
Where: Kamloops Supreme Court
When: Monday, April 11 at 9:30 A.M.
Note: The Inquest is public and media are free to attend.
For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Hollett, Communications Director: 778-848-3420, [email protected]
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Pivot Legal Society is a leading Canadian human rights organization that uses the law to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion in Canada. Pivot’s award winning work includes challenging laws and policies that force people to the margins of society and keep them there. Since 2002 Pivot has won major victories for sex workers’ rights, police accountability, affordable housing, and health and drug policy.
