The report into the death of Frank Paul has been released a decade after the 48-year-old Mi'kmaq man died in a cold alley after being dragged there by Vancouver police.
The 500-page, interim report "Alone and Cold" examines the circumstances of the aboriginal man's death and recommends systemic changes in the way Vancouver treats its aboriginal, homeless, addicted and mentally ill citizens.
Paul froze to death on December 6th, 1998, just hours after he was dragged, unconscious and soaking wet, from the Vancouver Police Department drunk tank and left in a lane on the Downtown Eastside.
As B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal released the report Thursday he offered his condolences to Paul's family in New Brunswick, saying the report won't ease the family's grief but he hopes it will shed more light on Paul's death.
The report finds police were indifferent to Paul's fate and recommends the development of a civilian-based criminal investigation model to look into police-related deaths in communities served by B.C.'s 11 municipal police departments.
The report makes 12 recommendations, including calling on the City of Vancouver to join forces with the local health authority, the provincial Health Ministry and First Nations to develop a joint, common response to help the city's homeless alcoholics.
During the probe, which was led by former judge William Davies, Crown prosecutors were asked to explain why charges were not laid against the officers but the Crown appealed the order and the matter is still before the courts.
"I have been unable to make any findings regarding the response to the death of Frank Paul by the Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General. The question of whether I have the authority to examine the Crown prosecutors who dealt with the Frank Paul matter has been argued before the Court of Appeal of this Province and we are awaiting the decision of that court," he said.
The inquiry will be reconvened if the court rules in his favour, he said.
He also recommended that civilians run sobering centres in place of police drunk tanks and called the way the homeless are dealt with "inadequate" and said services to help the homeless are little more than revolving doors.
"Persons intoxicated in public are taken into custody until they sober up, and are then put back on the street with little or no attention given to their homelessness," said Davies. "As Frank Paul's experience shows, the vicious circle repeats itself with alarming regularity."
He also recommended that civilians run sobering centres in place of police drunk tanks.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Renu Bakshi and files from The Canadian Press.
