Inquest begins into death of Sask. father after violent Prince Albert arrest

(Courtesy: FSIN)

A coroner’s inquest into the death of a man whose violent arrest raised questions around the excessive use of police force begins in Prince Albert Monday.

Coroner Frederick Kovach will lead a jury of civilians as they determine how 40-year-old Boden Umpherville died after a violent police traffic stop where he was repeatedly shot with a taser and beaten with a baton following a traffic stop on April 1, 2023.

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The cause of Umpherville’s death is not at the heart of this particular inquest. The father of five laid in a hospital bed on life support with no brain function for days after the incident before his family opted to remove the respirator.

What the inquest will provide is an opportunity for family members to hear testimony from officers who were involved and the civilian investigators who later cleared them of any wrongdoing in the arrest, a portion of which was captured on video and shared widely online.

The video put the public right at the scene of the most climactic moment in the arrest, which began in the early hours of April 1, 2023.

Police stopped a 2010 Dodge Avenger a little before 2:30 a.m. The car was being driven by Umpherville with two passengers inside, one of whom was the registered owner.

At the time, police said the vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that day – a pretext for the traffic stop which the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations later alleged had never occurred.

The vehicle’s owner was in one of the passenger seats during the traffic stop, police said.

Umpherville’s family members have accused the Prince Albert Police Service of using excessive force in the arrest, although a Serious Incident Response Team investigation found no wrongdoing.

• SIRT investigation clears police in death of man in custody

Nonetheless, the arrest was a catalyst for questions about the practice of law enforcement in a city plagued by police-related scandals in recent years.

The inquest will run until July 24 at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert.

After hearing from witnesses, including a forensic pathologist who examined Umpherville’s body, the jury will determine the circumstances that lead to his death.

The jury can also make recommendations about how similar deaths can be prevented in the future.