MOTHER MAINTAINS SON FELL THROUGH CRACKS

After hearing 28 witnesses describe the events leading to the death of
former Duncan resident 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 week at the Ramada Inn in Campbell River.

Throughout the inquest Jeanette Beadle maintained that her son "fell
through the cracks" when he died last March 2 of a drug overdose while
locked up in an 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 on Monday 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."

Jeanette 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."

Among the five-person jury's recommendations:

- - To B.C. Medical Association and the office in charge of contract
policing: Improve communication between services. In this case, emergency
room visits, methadone clinics, the RCMP and substance abuse programs.

The inquest heard that Beadle made several visits to Campbell River
Hospital, but some information regarding his street-drug use was not passed
along to other health care workers.

- - To B.C. Ambulance Service and the Ministry of Health: Review procedures
regarding ambulance attendants entering the RCMP building during an
emergency. The jury suggested ambulance attendants be given a garage door
opener.

When jail guards found Beadle unconscious, and perhaps dead, they called an
ambulance, but no one was at the door to admit the attendants when they
arrived at the detachment.

- - To College of Physicians and Surgeons, Registered Nurses of B.C., and the
B.C. Medical Association regarding the methadone program: Create more
accessibility by keeping clinics open Monday to Friday and have on-site
urine testing. Also, to consider combining alcohol and drug services to
better serve the community.

- - To B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre and to drug and alcohol
programs regarding detoxification and recovery programs: Make more
facilities and programs available, and that the length of stays in these
programs be extended in relation to programs in other communities.

- - To College of Physicians: a) That patients on the methadone program who
are considered high-risk for using other drugs be "red-flagged" on pharmacy
records; b) that pharmacists keep separate files for methadone users; c)
provide pharmacists with improved access to patient information.

The inquest heard that if health care professionals knew Beadle was taking
street drugs, they would have held back his methadone (the combination of
street drugs and methadone led to Beadle's death).

- - To jail guards hired by the District of Campbell River and to the Police
Academy Justice Institute of B.C. regarding RCMP members: a) They should be
trained in a level of first aid that deals with drug and alcohol symptoms;
b) review policies and procedures regarding the resuscitation of a prisoner
who is unconscious and who does not respond; c) review policy descriptions
of persons who are impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.

The inquest heard that Beadle was not taken to hospital after being picked
up by police for a second time on March 2.

Beadle had been picked up and taken to hospital earlier in the day by
police but he was not under arrest and left without seeing a doctor.