'HE SHOVED THE BALL OF COCAINE IN HIS MOUTH' TO AVOID JAIL

The man who died after apparently ingesting drugs in the back of a
police car earlier this month may have already been under the
influence of drugs prior to encountering police.

RCMP have said Michael Stein was arrested after police pulled over an
erratic driver, and that he apparently ingested drugs while in the
back of the police cruiser on Aug. 7.

However, an information to obtain (ITO) a search warrant in the case
reveals new information about the circumstances that led up to the
35-year-old's death.

After spending "days" awake smoking crack cocaine, Stein and a female
companion went to the McDonald's in Glenmore that Tuesday morning for
a snack and also bought a quarter to half an ounce of cocaine, the ITO
indicates.

An RCMP officer meanwhile, was dispatched to a break and enter that
had just occurred on Whitman Road in Glenmore, and other officers
joined the search for the female suspect.

A pair of officers decided to start their search at the Glenmore Plaza
on Kane Road, and arrived at around 10:20 a.m. to find a Honda Civic
hatchback stopped in the middle of the Tim Horton's parking lot
"obstructing the free flow of traffic."

"The driver of the Honda Civic exited the car and the driver's
movements were erratic and jerky, suggesting he may be under the
influence of a drug," the ITO indicates.

The driver then got back in his car and drove to the Petro-Can gas
station and came to stop in between a semi truck trailer and a pickup
truck, "completely obstructing" gas station traffic.

Officers decided to pull over the vehicle and when an officer
activated his emergency lights, "the driver of the Honda Civic ducked
down, under the dashboard....he was out of view for several seconds,"
the ITO indicates.

He then "sprung up" and placed his empty hands on the wheel of the
car.

His female friend later told police he uttered "something about not
wanting to go back to jail [and] then shoved the ball of crack in his
mouth."

When officers approached the vehicle, they spotted drug paraphernalia
between the front seats. A search netted two crack pipes, four
segments of clear rubber tubing, two mini digital scales, a white
powder residue, a small clear plastic bag with white residue, two
butane lighters and a canister of butane fuel.

The man, identified as Stein, was handcuffed, seated on the ground,
and informed he was being detained for impaired driving and a drug
possession investigation. He was later placed in the back of an RCMP
cruiser with his female companion, where he spit the remains of an
"eight ball" of crack onto the floor of the police car and swallowed
part of it, his companion told police.

An officer then took the couple to the RCMP station, and, while en
route, noticed in his rear view mirror that Stein's head
"periodically" disappeared from view.

"Const. McNeil suspected that Michael Stein was in possession of an
illegal drug and was attempting to destroy it by ingesting it," the
ITO says.

The officer pulled over the vehicle to inspect Stein closer, and when
he opened the rear door, Stein began to "scream frantically that he
ate two grams of 'crack.'" The officer spotted several small pieces of
white rock, believed to be crack cocaine, on the floor of the police
cruiser, and noted Stein had small white specks, believed to be drug
residue, on the corners of his mouth.

The officer radioed the police dispatcher to request paramedics meet
him at the RCMP detachment.

"Upon arrival at the Kelowna detachment, Michael Stein's behaviour
became more aggressive and erratic," the ITO indicates. "Michael Stein
uttered... that he was overdosing."

"When the paramedics arrived, Michael Stein's behaviour became
increasingly violent and out of control." Two officers placed Stein on
a gurney and had strapped on wrist and leg restraints when he
"suddenly went into full cardiac arrest."

Paramedics revived him, but he died in hospital on Aug. 16. The death
remains under investigation by the coroner's service, and a coroner's
inquest is expected to be held in the death.