Jury urges new prisoner-safety measures
Inquest into April 2023 death of Lonnie Dellas Carr, 59, while he was in custody of deputy sheriffs yields recommendations for searches, medication examinations for transport
A coroner’s inquest into the drug-induced death of a prisoner being transported by deputy sheriffs two years ago has led to recommendations for better searches and better inspection of medications.
Lonnie Dellas Carr, 59, died in Fredericton from a “drug-induced cardiac arrest,” the provincial coroner’s office reported, and he was in the custody of deputy sheriffs at the time for transport.
A coroner’s inquest was held before a panel of five jurors in Fredericton this week, and that jury issued recommendations Thursday designed to avoid fatalities in similar circumstances in the future.
In a news release, the Department of Justice and Public Safety reported that the jury recommended cameras be installed in sheriffs’ services vehicles to improve monitoring of people in custody during transport.
“Vehicles should be checked before and after transfers or moves,” the release said, listing the recommendations.
“Prior warning should be provided to Ambulance NB for transfers involving a person with a high medical risk. Personal items should not be allowed during transfers.”
It also called on the RCMP to lower criteria for personal searches of people in custody to ensure they don’t have items that could cause them harm, and it recommended improving inspections of prisoner medications and personal items.
The jury offered a suggestion for another agency involved in the case as well: Ambulance New Brunswick.
“The 20-minute wait on-site to stabilize patients, which is the current policy, should be made at the discretion of the emergency medical technician,” it said.
While the chief coroner will forward the jury’s recommendations to the appropriate agencies and will include them in the office’s annual report, they’re not binding on those agencies.
The Fredericton Independent can be reached at ftonindependent@gmail.com.