The first day of a coroner's inquest into the in-custody death of a Stanley Cup rioter was filled with shocking revelations about his final days, including testimony that he consumed a large amount of drugs he had hidden in his rectum.
William Fisher was found guilty of a violent attack in which a Good Samaritan who stood up to a group of vandals during the June 2011 riot was kicked in the head, stomped on and knocked unconscious.
Fisher was taken the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in February 2016 to start a three-year sentence for his involvement in the incident.
But just days later, he was dead.
On Tuesday, Maritza Ramirez, a corrections officer from the pre-trial centre told the coroner's inquest the 30-year-old had been approached by someone she referred to as an influential inmate. Fisher appeared very distressed when a group of inmates later approached him in the yard, she added.
The officer testified that she found Fisher with possible drug contraband when she entered his cell for a check.
She said the Fisher repeatedly told her, "You don't understand. If I don't do this, they're going to kill me."
He was then strip searched and moved to segregation where cellmate Kyle Cooke testified Fisher produced MDMA from his anal cavity and began snorting "an insane amount" of the psychoactive drug.
During the inquest, the cellmate described Fisher's consumption as "more than I've ever seen anybody do of that."
The inquest was shown surveillance footage from Fisher's cell in segregation on the morning of Feb. 21, 2016. The video showed him hunched over and flailing on a top bunk. He is seen trying to get up, but falling over repeatedly. Fisher eventually falls off the bunk onto the floor, where he continues to struggle around the room for several minutes. His cellmate is then seen pushing a call button on the wall.
An officer testified Fisher continued to struggle and scream while staff at the facility tried to restrain him. He eventually stopped moving and medical treatment began. Fisher, however, died in hospital on Feb. 25.
Family members told CTV News Fisher was trying to turn his life around after the riot. A judge found he had been sober for almost two years.
"He wanted to serve his sentence and put that ugly incident behind him," said Carley Bakker, Fisher's cousin. "It's turned into a life sentence for all of us."
According to officer testimony, a body scanner has since been added at North Fraser to help check for contraband.
The inquest is scheduled to continue for most of the week.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber
