Yukon who is who

Raymond Silverfox (1965 - 2008)

Raymond Silverfox was celebrating his birthday on December 1, 2008 in his hometown of Carmacks when he and his girlfriend got a ride to Whitehorse. Mr. Silverfox was not known as a heavy drinker but did binge drink occasionally. They arrived in Whitehorse in an intoxicated state and went to the Salvation Army shelter at 12:30 am. Raymond started to vomit and was unresponsive. The staff called the paramedics who arrived at the shelter at 4:59 am. They found him conscious and responsive and rated his intoxication as 5.5 on a scale of 10. There is no evidence that they measured his blood alcohol concentration. The temperature was -16 C and Mr. Silverfox did not want to go to the hospital so the RCMP was called. The police arrived at 5:10 and Mr. Silverfox was arrested for causing a disturbance. It seems that compassion was the reason for taking him into custody.¹⁾

Raymond was booked into the drunk tank at the Whitehorse RCMP Detachment. He started to hyperventilate and did not respond, although he was moving around, at 7:22 am. There were inadequate checks on him, and staff was unaware of the history of the arrest. He was very ill and still intoxicated after ten hours, and the cell became contaminated with fluids. The police and cell staff commented on his condition but did nothing to help him. Mr. Silverfox was found unresponsive at 6:43 pm and an ambulance was called but he was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:15 pm. A toxicological screen did not reveal elevated levels of alcohol or drugs. The autopsy report concluded that he died of sepsis and aspiration pneumonia. Three separate investigations were undertaken.²⁾ Following a week and a half of testimony and evidence, the coroner’s inquest determined that Silverfox died of natural causes.³⁾

The initial investigation into his death was conducted by the “M” Division Major Crimes Unit, and then quickly turned over to RCMP “E” Division North District Major Crime Unit in British Columbia. That investigation concluded that no charges were warranted in the death although a number of recommendations were made for the safe care of prisoners. A number of police constables were found to have exhibited conduct far short of that required by Canada’s national police. The RCMP members involved with Mr. Silverfox did not treat him with decency and respect and did not attend to his acute medical needs. In May 2010, the Yukon government created a task force to address the issue of extreme intoxication and alcohol dependence. The task force included a Whitehorse physician, a former chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and First Nations, health care, justice, and social service officials.⁴⁾