The family of a 38-year-old man who died more than two years ago after spending time in police custody says they are frustrated that the inquest into his death hasn’t taken place.
Michael Ryan was found unresponsive in a cell in the police detention unit around 3 p.m. Feb. 26, 2016, and pronounced dead in hospital a short while later.
His brother Cheney Ryan told CTV News the family has questions about what happened and hasn’t seen an autopsy report.
“It’s been very frustrating. Very heartbreaking,” he said.
Public inquests are fact-finding exercises meant to determine the cause, manner and circumstances of deaths. The coroner's jury may also make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
An inquest into Michael’s death was scheduled for this month, but postponed because not all parties involved could attend, according to the province. It’s now set to take place in May.
“While the delay is regrettable, this is the earliest time for which all parties were available,” a ministry of justice spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News.
Michael, the father of a teenage boy, had been taken into police custody about three hours before he was found unresponsive. He was arrested after officers received several calls about a man running into oncoming traffic.
“Our family hasn’t (received) an autopsy report. We haven’t seen video. Was he treated fairly? Was he treated poorly? … We don’t know that until this public inquest,” Cheney said. Cheney told CTV News Michael was battling mental health and addiction at the time.
“I promised him I wouldn’t let him die, I wouldn’t let him feel like he was alone,” Cheney said. “Ultimately in the end, he was alone and so it’s hard.”
He said Michael was in the middle of a rehabilitation program when he died and is encouraging others to seek help for mental health and addictions.
About a month after Michael’s death, Saskatoon’s police board approved a recommendation for paramedics to be staffed in detention cells 24 hours a day.
Of the five inquests done in Saskatchewan in 2017, three took place just over a year after the person's death.
One took just over two years and another more than four years. Cheney has set up a GoFundMe page to help with legal and travel expenses.
