When Cheryl Ann Cowan was arrested in the early morning of Dec. 15, 2014, she was loaded into a Vancouver police prisoner wagon and transported to jail.
The trip from the scene of her arrest at a house near 33rd Avenue to the jail on East Cordova took almost 24 minutes. At some point during that trip, Cowan went unconscious.
Eight days later, the 58-year-old woman died in St. Paul's Hospital.
The B.C. Coroners Service announced in a news release this week that an inquest will be held in January to "determine the facts surrounding this death." The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
The inquest is being called despite a separate investigation into Cowan's death by the Independent Investigations Office, which investigates police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death to a person. The investigations' office cleared the Vancouver police of any wrongdoing in Cowan's death.
In an emailed statement to the Courier, the Coroners Service said the decision to hold an inquest was made after the chief coroner reviewed the circumstances of Cowan's death.
"The Coroners Act makes it mandatory for all deaths in police custody to be reviewed at inquest," the statement said. "By long practice, the Coroners Service takes all police-involved deaths to inquest to ensure a thorough public review of the circumstances."
Richard Rosenthal, the chief civilian director of the investigations' office, noted in his report that medical records determined Cowan's cause of death was "severe anoxic brain injury due to a cardiac arrest." The injury occurs when the heart stops, causing a lack of oxygen to the brain.
Police arrested Cowan after responding to a 911 call at 6:08 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2014 of a woman "causing a disturbance" at a family member's house. Evidence from medical records and witnesses who interacted with Cowan concluded she was intoxicated.
"The statements of both witness officers are clear that neither officer perceived any medical distress being experienced by the affected person," Rosenthal said.
The officer who drove the prisoner wagon declined to make a statement in the investigation, which is his right under the Charter. Even so, Rosenthal said he was satisfied the officer performed his duties according to policies set out by the VPD related to the transportation of prisoners.
Rosenthal concluded there was no evidence that any force was used in the arrest and that Cowan was able to get into the prisoner wagon unassisted.
VPD policy states that officers are required to check on the well-being of a person in custody, particularly when there is a considerable delay in transportation or the prisoner was injured or suffered from a medical condition.
"In this case, the delay was not of a length that could in any way be classified as considerable," said Rosenthal, noting the trip took 23 minutes and 18 seconds, including a brief stop at the VPD's Cambie Street precinct.
Police didn't know Cowan was unconscious until an officer opened a door of the prisoner wagon at the jail at 7:43 a.m. Nurses, jail staff, a doctor and firefighters all responded to Cowan, who regained a pulse after treatment from paramedics.
She was transported to St. Paul's Hospital in an ambulance, where she remained on life support until her death Dec.23, 2014. The inquest begins Jan. 11, 2016.
Note: This story has been updated since first posted.
mhowell@vancourier.com
@Howellings
