Dr. Harry Voogjarv, Regional Supervising Coroner for North Region announced today that a date has been scheduled for the inquest into the death of Gordon Dale Couvrette.
Couvrette, 43, died in the hospital on February 22, 2018, after an interaction with North Bay police officers. An inquest into his death is mandatory under the Coroners Act.
See: No charges after local man dies during arrest
His obituary called Couverette "an avid fisherman, who will always be remembered for having a big heart, his love for his children, and his sense of humour."
See:: Obituary Gordon Dale Couvrette
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Couvrette’s death. The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths in similar circumstances.
The inquest is expected to last five days and hear from approximately 10 witnesses.
The inquest will start at 9 a.m. on Monday, November 21, at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre, 700 Lakeshore Dr.
North Bay. Dr. Steven Bodley will be the presiding officer. Jose Rodriguez and Cecilia Martin will be the inquest counsel.
No charges were laid against North Bay police officers after the 43-year-old Harris Drive man died after being tasered in his bedroom during an arrest in Feb. 2018.
See: Local man dies after being tasered by police
The Special Investigations Unit determined there were no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges in relation to the death.
See: SIU release name of man killed in taser death
That morning shortly after 5 a.m., officers were called to a home by a neighbour about a domestic dispute.
Police say some hours before the domestic assault, Couvrette had ingested a quantity of a number of drugs, including cocaine, hydromorphone and morphine.
"Shortly thereafter, he became extremely agitated and paranoid."
The man grabbed a golf club that was in the room and started swinging it at an imaginary person, who he believed was there to harm him and his girlfriend. She tried to calm him down but to no avail. He grabbed her by the hair and placed her in a headlock. By the time of the officers’ arrival, they were both on the floor.
According to the SIU report, soon after entering the home, the officers became involved in a struggle with the man as they tried to subdue him. After several minutes of attempting to grapple the man into submission, one officer deployed his Conducted Energy Weapon (Taser) but this had no discernible effect.
The officers had great difficulty because of what was described as the man's “superhuman strength” and the perspiration covering his body.
"In time, the officers were finally able to gain control of the man who was believed to be suffering from drug-induced psychosis," adds the report. "While waiting for an ambulance, the man’s breathing began to fail and as such, officers began to administer CPR. The paramedics took charge of the man’s treatment and eventually transported him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead."
The subsequent post-mortem examination report described the cause of Courvette's death in the following terms: “Sudden death with no anatomical cause associated with acute-on-chronic cocaine and amphetamine abuse/intoxication, forcible struggle and possible excited delirium syndrome.”
For more information about inquests, see: https://www.ontario.ca/page/
