COCAINE KILLED CLAY WILLEY, INQUEST TOLD

Clay Alvin Willey died as a result of cocaine use, a pathologist told the
coroner's inquest into the controversial death of a man who died while in
police custody in July of 2003.

Pathologist J.D. McNaughton was the first witness in the inquest of the
death of the 33-year-old Prince George man.

Pre-inquest speculation pointed a finger at the RCMP's use of physical force
to subdue Willey and their use of a Taser stun gun as possible contributors
to Willey's death. McNaughton also testified that, in his estimation, these
were not relevant factors.

"The electrical current is what is of concern in the use of Taser guns,"
McNaughton said. "The shocks are brief in nature and the current doesn't
linger in the body. For there to be a relationship between the shock and the
death, the death should occur in a finite period of time, four or five
minutes at most, after the application of the shock." Willey continued to
struggle for several minutes after the application of the shock and did not
die until the next morning in Prince George Regional Hospital.

David Coverdale, the presiding coroner at the inquest, outlined for the
gallery and the jury of two men and three women the circumstances around
Willey's death. Coverdale said it began on July 21, 2003, at 5:16 p.m. when
the Prince George RCMP received a complaint of a man causing a disturbance
on 11th Avenue behind Parkwood Place Mall. He was reportedly acting
erratically and had threatened a dog.

Upon arrival at the scene, police initially addressed Willey verbally, but
found him to be noncompliant, Coverdale said. When officers attempted to
physically obtain compliance, Willey aggressively resisted. RCMP used
physical force, pepper spray and handcuffs to restrain him. He continued to
struggle and RCMP applied a hog-tie restraint before transporting him to the
detachment.

Willey continued to struggle, including kicking out and spitting, while in
an RCMP cellblock. It was at this point that police used a Taser gun to
bring him under control. He was Tasered twice, according to the pathologist
He continued to struggle for a time, then went suddenly docile. An ambulance
was called and by 5:36 p.m. he was en route to hospital. While travelling,
Willey went into cardiac arrest but was revived. Emergency Room personnel
treated him then moved him to the Intensive Care Unit. He lived through the
night, but was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m. on July 22.

McNaughton performed an autopsy two days later during which he examined
Willey's extensive surface injuries (cuts, bruises, abrasions), some
internal injuries (broken ribs), and organ condition (damage to the heart).
While on the witness stand McNaughton described Willey's head injuries as
"trivial - these were not terribly forceful injuries. They were enough to
leave a mark, but not so much as to result in fractures or the splitting of
the skin."

He described Willey's broken ribs as consistent with CPR efforts to revive
him from his cardiac arrest, except for two which he found to be likely the
result of the altercation with police. When cross-examined by the Willey
family's lawyer Dan Weatherly about the possibility of kicking Willey,
McNaughton said he could discover no evidence that suggested this happened
and, in fact, found evidence to suggest it did not happen in some of the
cases identified by Weatherly.

Coupled with a toxicology report that found the presence of cocaine in
Willey's system and indications of heart damage consistent with prolonged
drug use, McNaughton determined the death was as a result of a condition
known as cocaine psychosis or agitated delirium. He said the sequence of
events was highly indicative of the sometimes fatal complex.

The inquest continues today.