Three years following the death of a 21-year-old Indigenous man in an RCMP holding cell in Williams Lake, B.C., an Independent Investigations Office (IIO) report has determined that a proper duty of care was not provided to the man. The individual, identified as Surrance Myers, a Tŝilhqot’in First Nation member, was left unattended on the cell floor for about two hours before an officer scheduled to release him recognized the issue and called for assistance.
The lead director of the IIO referred to this case as part of a concerning trend associated with multiple in-custody deaths in recent years. The police watchdog report, authored by IIO chief civilian director Jessica Berglund, indicated that there were no grounds to suspect any officer of criminal conduct in Myers’s death. However, the report highlighted issues such as understaffing at the detachment and the failure of the civilian guard on duty to physically check on Myers as required.
Between 2019 and 2023, the IIO was informed of 15 incidents where detainees either died in police custody or passed away after being taken to the hospital from the cells. Out of these cases, seven of the individuals were Indigenous, underscoring the necessity for improved care and supervision of detainees, as stated by Berglund.
Tŝilhqot’in National Government expressed the need for accountability and urged the RCMP and government authorities to collaborate in implementing changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Jenny Philprick, the executive director of Tŝilhqot’in National Government, described Myers as a recent high school graduate with a promising future and emphasized the confusion surrounding his overnight custody.
The IIO report detailed the events leading to Myers’s death, starting with his arrest on September 20, 2022, by Williams Lake RCMP officers for driving an unlicensed moped. The report mentioned that Myers had a history of fleeing from the police and was prohibited from operating a motor vehicle. Following a brief chase and his apprehension, Myers was taken into custody and later found unresponsive in his cell.
The investigation revealed that the detachment was short-staffed that night, leading to lapses in routine prisoner checks as required by RCMP policy. Myers was observed falling off a bench in his cell and sustaining injuries, but the civilian guard on duty failed to provide timely assistance. Despite subsequent checks, Myers was discovered in distress shortly before being released, with postmortem results indicating no significant injuries or toxicology findings related to his death.
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation emphasized the need for answers and accountability in light of the report’s findings, expressing disappointment in the lack of effort from authorities to address the failures that led to Myers’s death. The nation announced its intention to pursue legal action to seek justice and ensure similar incidents are prevented in the future. Nits’ilʔin Lennon Solomon of the Yuneŝit’in Government remembered Myers as a respectful and hardworking individual, calling for the RCMP to take responsibility for the tragedy and commit to necessary changes.
