Surrey/Chilliwack –UPDATE – While the Coroner and IIO have not said who the victim is, reliable social media contacts have told FVN that the victim is Lindsey Gauthier.
The Coroner released this statement:
The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died shortly after being arrested by Chilliwack RCMP on April 6, 2016.
The man was Lindsey Harvey Gauthier, aged 45, of Chilliwack.
At about 7 a.m. on April 6, 2016, Chilliwack RCMP were called to a restaurant in Chilliwack. Mr. Gauthier was arrested and shortly after the arrest was noted to be in medical distress. He was transported to Chilliwack General Hospital, but could not be resuscitated.
The BC Coroners Service and the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) continue to investigate this death.
The mandate of the IIO is to investigate whether any offences may have been committed by the police officers involved. The mandate of the BC Coroners Service in such cases is broader. The coroner’s investigation may look at the events that led up to the final fatal outcome and whether there are reasonable and practical recommendations that could be made that might prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.
ORIGINAL STORY – The Independent Investigations Office of BC has deployed investigators to an in-custody death involving Upper Fraser Valley RCMP.
Police responded to a call of a disturbance at around 7:20 a.m. in the 46000 block of Yale Road in Chilliwack (Uptown Restaurant) . Once they arrived at the scene they located the subject of the call and placed him under arrest. According to police, the male then went into medical distress, was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Investigators at the scene will be conducting standard tasks including obtaining physical evidence from the scene, interviewing any civilian witnesses and designating and interviewing officers.
Any potential witnesses are asked to call the IIO Toll-free Witness Line at 1-855-446-8477.
The IIO will not be providing any information about the deceased; this remains the responsibility of the BC Coroners Service.
