MOM VENTS ANGER AFTER SON'S INQUEST

After hearing from 28 witnesses describing the events leading to the death
of former local man Adam Wayne Beadle, his family broke down and cried at
the conclusion of the coroner's inquest.

"Everything has been so unfair," sobbed Jeanette Beadle, Adam's mother. "No
one wants to take the blame."

As the jury retired from the inquest to deliberate their recommendations,
Beadle wept along with her mother, daughter and sister who all attended the
five-day inquest held last month in Campbell River.

Throughout the inquest Beadle maintained her son "fell through the cracks"
when he died last March 2 of an overdose in a Campbell River RCMP jail
cell. The 27-year-old Duncan man had come to Campbell River a week earlier
to seek treatment for drug addiction. During that time he saw several
health care workers and was put on a methadone program to ease his heroin
addiction. However, he also fell in with the wrong crowd and began taking
other street drugs on top of his daily methadone dosage.

On the afternoon of March 2, Beadle was found acting erratically in the
downtown area. He was arrested by police, locked up - he was reportedly
calling for help and frothing at the mouth while incarcerated - and died at
approximately 11:30 p.m. due to respiratory depression caused by a
methadone overdose.

From the beginning of the inquest examining his death, his mother
expressed skepticism with the proceedings. However, she took some comfort
in the fact the jury came back with 12 recommendations.

"I was fairly happy with that," said Jeanette Beadle from her Chemainus
home. "I think we were really lucky with the jury. My lawyer said he
expected a couple of recommendations but we got 12."

Retired nurse Norma Soderholm was foreperson of the five-member jury which
issued recommendations (see sidebar) to the B.C. Medical Association, B.C.
Ambulance Service, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Registered
Nurses of B.C., the College of Pharmacists, B.C. Drug and Poison
Information Centre, drug and alcohol programs, the District of Campbell
River, and the Police Academy Justice Institute of B.C.

"The recommendations must be reasonable, practical and be able to be
implemented," coroner Charleen Phelps instructed the jury following the
conclusion of testimony on Nov. 23. "This is the most important part of a
coroner's inquest. Your recommendations may help prevent future deaths of
this nature."

Back in Chemainus, Jeanette Beadle is caring for Adam's one-year-old son
Elmer. She is considering selling some assets to continue legal action and
she is filing complaints with the RCMP complaints commissioner as well as
with the B.C. chief coroner.

"I'm happy with the recommendations but I don't know how we can make them
policy. That's my concern," she said. "I'm going to stay on top of them and
I'm going to carry on. I want this stopped. People shouldn't die in police
cells - they really failed my child."