An inquest into the death of Jordan Lafond, a 21-year-old man who died in hospital one day after a stolen vehicle crashed near a Saskatoon high school, has been postponed until June.
The inquest was set to begin Monday, March 5, but was rescheduled. Only jury selection was completed.
The lawyer representing Lafond’s family said they were disappointed the inquest wasn’t able to begin Monday, but understood the reasoning behind the delay — another lawyer involved in the inquest recently fell ill.
“The family of Jordan is here and ready to face this process,” Chris Murphy said outside of Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench. “I think it’s fair to say that everyone’s very disappointed the inquest didn’t start today.”
Lafond was a passenger in a stolen truck that crashed into a fence near Bethlehem Catholic High School on Oct. 23, 2016. Police were pursuing the vehicle before the crash.
Lafond was taken into custody after the collision and was transported to Royal University Hospital, where he died the next day, according to the Ministry of Justice. He appeared to be in medical distress when he was taken to hospital.
Police initially stated they believed Lafond died as a result of the collision, but a little over a week after the crash, then-police chief Clive Weighill said investigators were not sure if Lafond died of injuries in the crash or if he was injured by an officer’s knee when he was taken into custody.
A jury of five women and one man was selected through a pool of Indigenous and non-Indigenous jurors. Members from both groups were chosen. The presiding coroner of an inquest can decide if the jury be composed, in whole or in part, of people from a specific racial or cultural group. The process is permitted under the Coroner’s Act, but not in criminal trials.
“I think it was a very fair process,” Murphy said of the jury selection.
The inquest, which is now scheduled to run five days starting June 25, is expected to hear from 20 witnesses.
Inquests are meant to determine the cause, manner and circumstances of deaths. The coroner's jury may also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
