B.C. coroner's inquest to examine bizarre circumstances of man's death in police custody

Police cruisers and ambulances are seen on the Mary Hill Bypass during an incident on Dec. 22, 2019, in which one man died in police custody.

A British Columbia coroner's inquest will hear details about a bizarre incident that left a 52-year-old man dead in police handcuffs in Metro Vancouver nearly five years ago.

As part of the inquest, a jury will hear evidence and make recommendations seeking to prevent deaths under similar circumstances as those that led to the death of Melvin Viggo Gary Erickson in Coquitlam in 2019.

The local RCMP detachment has released few details about the incident, but a police watchdog report the following year found no reasonable grounds to recommend charges against the Mounties in the man's death.

The report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. relied on witness statements and evidence gathered from the scene, which indicated police were called to Erickson's home at around 5 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2019.

Erickson reportedly fled the home, running down a hill onto a highway, where he tried to flag down passing motorists.

One officer told investigators with the police oversight agency that a vehicle nearly hit Erickson as he stood in traffic. The officer turned on his vehicle's emergency lights and got out of the cruiser, calling out to the man, who ran away.

The officer ran after Erickson, yelling, as vehicles stopped and others tried to dodge him.

The officer said the man appeared "confused and almost fearful" and was saying he needed help. He appeared to have blood on his face and clothes, the report noted.

'Please help me'

The Mountie said he nearly caught up with the man before he jumped over a concrete divider into traffic heading the other way.

The IIO report said the man tried unsuccessfully to get into a stopped vehicle, then ran to an SUV and opened the rear passenger-side door. The woman inside screamed, the officer said, prompting the officer to "redouble" his efforts to catch the man.

The officer grabbed Erickson by his shirt and the back of his neck, pulling him out of the SUV, but the man shoved the officer away.

Video from a dashboard camera in the officer's cruiser corroborated his story, the IIO said. The man could be heard saying, "Please help me," on the video, the watchdog agency said.

A passerby eventually intervened, holding the man against the hood of a vehicle, as the officer instructed, and telling Erickson: "Just relax, just relax. It's over buddy, it's over," the report said.

The officer is heard in the recording asking another civilian to grab the man's legs. He told the IIO that at that point, they were able to pull the man onto the ground, which the report noted was achieved with "considerable difficulties."

The man can be heard in the recording again asking for help, saying he was hurt, according to the report, which said the man was "clearly panicked."

The IIO said an autopsy report found Erickson couldn't breathe due to health conditions, not use of force from police. He'd been taking medications for a heart condition, and another police officer told the IIO the man had taken an "unknown quantity of cocaine" shortly before the incident played out.

The man was handcuffed face down on the road and was now being restrained by at least two officers, according to the watchdog report.

"For about a minute after the subject officers' vehicles arrived, (the man) can be heard repeatedly saying, 'I can't breathe,' and officers can be heard trying to reassure him, telling him, 'It's going to be OK,'" the report said.

The officer who'd chased after him on the road acknowledged the man said he couldn't breathe, but told the IIO that it would have been unsafe at that point to move him, because he was still trying to pull away.

The man eventually became unresponsive, and an ambulance was called to the scene. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, Erickson was pronounced dead.

The autopsy listed his cause of death as polysubstance toxicity (in this case, cocaine and methadone), but there were other contributing factors, according to the report. He had high blood pressure, plaque buildup in his arteries and his heart was enlarged, according to the findings.

Presiding coroner Susan Barth will conduct the inquest beginning on Oct. 1 in Burnaby.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kendra Mangione