GUITARD STRUGGLED TO BREAK DRUG ADDICTION

Death Came After Being Outside In An Unconscious State For
Hours

Drug addict and petty criminal Jonathan Guitard was one of those who
could have "got out," could have beat his addiction, could have built
a new life, Rev. Al Tysick said. But he never did.

Guitard, 28, who was found after being unconscious outside for hours
because of a mismanaged call to Victoria police died of undisclosed
causes later in hospital on Dec. 13 last year.

Tysick said Guitard, also known as "French Joe," had several times
asked for help to fight his cocaine addiction. It would take several
days to line up admission to a detox centre and each time, Guitard had
sunk back into his drug habit.

"He lost at it several times, but he was willing to go back into the
battle," Tysick said. "He wanted to beat it."

Darren Murphy, a client at Our Place, the street ministry centre
overseen by Tysick, said Guitard was "self-destructive," and a loner.
Tysick agreed that Guitard kept himself apart from others

"He didn't want to get drawn into that world," Tysick said.
Nevertheless, Tysick said Guitard was not anti-social. He was regarded
as polite, "the guy who would get a flower for the staff, and he
wouldn't go into the kitchen and get a plate of food without saying
thank you very much."

Tysick said Guitard left his family's Montreal home at a young age in
a "rebellion."

He worked intermittently at odd day jobs.

Guitard's friend, Robert St. Amour who met him while both were in
jail, said he tried to get a job for Guitard but Guitard never
followed up.

Guitard funded his drug consumption through petty crime, racking up 15
charges and multiple court appearances since May 2006. Tysick believes
Guitard may have been in Victoria a few years earlier than that. He
says Guitard paid attention to his dress and was always neat and clean.

"He didn't smell when he came in here," Tysick said. "He was a bit of
a ladies man."

Sgt. Grant Hamilton, spokesman for Victoria police, said police logged
50 contacts with Guitard since 2006.

"He was well-known to our officers," Hamilton said. "I don't want to
speak ill of the dead, but he was one of our most prolific parking
meter thieves."

Victoria police's last contact with Guitard before his death was in
August 2008, when Guitard smashed a window to steal a backpack inside
a car.

On Dec. 13, at 4 a.m., with Victoria's temperature at 4 C, a security
guard found Guitard on Courtney Street. He placed a call to Victoria
police's non-emergency line but the call was given a lower priority
than it should have received.

"It wasn't clear to the complaint-taker that this was a "man down"
call," Hamilton said.

If had been properly assigned, police would have responded
immediately, Hamilton added.

Police, who were dealing with a high volume of calls, did not respond
until later, and it was not until 6:30 a.m. that an ambulance took
Guitard to hospital where he died at 8:30 a.m.

The Greater Victoria Integrated Homicide Unit is investigating
Guitard's death, and the Police Complaint Commissioner is overseeing
the investigation.