LAWSUIT PLANNED BY DEAD GIRL'S MOM

Laura Coward's death in custody has haunted her mother.

It's been more than two years since her daughter died in police
custody, but Sharleen Guilbault said she is planning a lawsuit
against the RCMP over the lack of care she says her daughter received.

On Feb. 4, 2008, three days after being arrested on outstanding
warrants for breach of probation and assault, Laura Coward, 26, died
in a cell in the Chilliwack Community Policing Office.

According to RCMP Supt. Keith Robinson, the on-duty guard witnessed
Coward vomiting 11 times between 1:36 a.m. and 7:15 a.m.

No medical attention was sought.

After being found unresponsive in her cell, Coward was pronounced
dead at 9:18 a.m. that morning.

Coward became an intravenous drug user after her father died,
according to Guilbault, and was trying to stop using drugs and turn
her life around at the time of her death.

Guilbault said she is planning the lawsuit to ensure police officers
and guards keep a stricter watch over prisoners.

She said she would also sue over wages she claims to have lost while
depression kept her from working.

Guilbault used to be employed as a youth worker, but said she
couldn't continue after her daughter died. She said she's now working
as a cleaner at Ridge Meadows Hospital and makes approximately
$30,000 less per year than she made as a youth worker.

"There's no money in the world that could replace my daughter," she said.

Guilbault said she maxed out her credit cards and needed to
re-mortgage her house to pay her bills. She said the move cost her
approximately $100,000 in home equity.

A Coroner's Inquest into Coward's death took place in February 2009.
The inquest jury made several recommendations, including providing
immediate medical assessments for suspected drug users when they're
locked in a cell.

Guilbault maintains that the blame for Coward's death was spread too
evenly, and she feels that the real guilt resided with the officer in charge.

"They're trying to squirm their way out of it," she said.

Guilbault said she also wanted a public apology, on the grounds the
police didn't do their duty.

"There's flaws in their system and they need to fix it," she said.
"They say they're doing all the recommendations. I hope that stays in
place and they keep doing them."

As a result of Coward's death, a number of changes were instituted to
ensure prisoners are kept as safe as possible, according to a letter
written by Robinson in December 2009.

The changes include more rigorous record-keeping, more thorough
examinations of prisoners, and less clerical work for guards so they
can focus solely on monitoring prisoners, as well as overlapping
shifts so prisoners aren't neglected during the busiest times of the
day. All of those practices have since been instituted, according to Robinson.

Responding to a complaint filed by the B.C. Civil Liberties Union,
Robinson acknowledged RCMP procedures were not entirely followed and
medical care should have been provided for Coward, even if she didn't want it.

Coward injected herself with an unknown substance prior to her
arrest, which was witnessed by police, according to Robinson.

Coward was treated at Chilliwack General Hospital for a staph
infection on Feb. 1, the evening she was arrested. The physician who
examined her declared she was "fit to be incarcerated," according to
Robinson's letter.

There was no notation in the prisoner log to verify Coward was
certified "fit for incarceration," nor was the name of the physician
recorded, according to Robinson.

A failure to note the name of the examining physician is a violation
of RCMP protocol.

The physician also requested that Coward be returned on Feb. 3 for
additional care and to have her bandage changed.

Robinson stated there was no documentation to show Coward was taken
to the hospital on Feb. 3.

On Feb. 2, according to Robinson's letter, Sgt. Ken Morris had a
conversation with Coward. She had vomited in her cell, the sergeant
said, but she had asked him not to get her any medical assistance.

According to the letter, he complied with her request.

Due to the number of guards helping to transport prisoners, no one
checked on Coward between 8:15 a.m. and 9 a.m. on the morning she
died, Robinson maintains in his letter.

A prisoner is supposed to be checked every 15 minutes, according to Robinson.

Guard Gerry Burke, who was working an overnight shift between 11 p.m.
Feb. 3 and 7 a.m. Feb. 4, said he spoke to Coward at least twice
about her health. In both instances, he said, she told him she didn't
need medical attention.

Those conversations are not documented in the prisoner log, according
to Robinson's letter.

A pathologist could not determine the cause of Coward's death.