A Kilburn Hall supervisor said Thursday a teen that died in one of the youth facility’s cells two years ago didn’t show any signs that 911 needed to be called during his shift.

The supervisor was testifying at Saskatoon’s Queen’s Bench Court on day four of a coroner’s inquest into the 17-year-old’s death. The teen died of a crystal meth overdose, the inquest heard.

The supervisor, Dale Larocque, said he didn’t believe the teen was overdosing on what was believed to be crystal meth and that he was comfortable with the decisions made at the time.

The inquest heard from other staff members who believed the teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was overdosing on crystal meth. They repeatedly asked the supervisor for help and to call 911, they said.

Larocque said he was confident with the way a team of nurses and supervisors handled the situation at the time and that it was a group decision to not call 911.

“I was very comfortable with how we went about it and the decisions that were made,” Larocque testified.

He said a nurse told him to watch for signs of the teen’s lips and fingertips turning blue, slurred speech or the teen becoming unconscious before calling an ambulance.

“He was coherent. He was talking to me. He was yelling at me,” Larocque said.

Larocque testified the teen was agitated and angry, but his behaviour wasn’t out of the ordinary. He said the teen told him he took crystal meth but wouldn’t tell him how much or when.

When asked if he recalls the teen telling him he would die without medical attention, Larocque responded, “No.”

An ambulance wasn’t called during Laroque’s shift, which ended at 11 a.m.

Supervisor Robert Johnson took over the role at 11 p.m. Johnson testified Larocque told him there was concern about the teen and indications he took crystal meth, but that Larocque didn’t believe he took the drug and was just withdrawing from it.

Johnson said he asked a nurse to come and take a look at the teen, but the nurse said it wasn’t necessary. He was also told by a nurse to watch for the same signs Larocque was told to monitor.

“I trusted their medical and professional opinion at the time,” Johnson testified.

When he witnessed the teen lying on the ground and frothing at the mouth with glazed over eyes, he told a staff member to call 911. He said he called the teen’s name a few times but the teen didn’t respond. Nobody entered the teen’s cell between the time the ambulance was called and when paramedics arrived — about 10 minutes, according to Johnson. He said staff at the youth facility became frantic.

“Nobody had a clear answer about what to do,” he said.

A coroner’s inquest doesn’t find legal fault in a case but determines some of the facts. The jury, which is expected to begin deliberations Friday, can make recommendations to help prevent a similar situation.