A coroner’s inquest is planned to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of a man during a standoff with RCMP in Whistler, B.C., more than four years ago.

Jason Elwyn Koehler, 47, a business owner in the municipality, died on March 8, 2020 after police officers tased, pepper-sprayed, punched and beat him with a baton while trying to arrest him. apprehended in a restaurant in Whistler Village.

The province’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of BC, ruled that police did not use excessive force and found no reason to believe the officers involved committed offenses in connection with his death.

Coroner’s inquests are required for any death that occurs while a person is in police custody or custody.

The investigation will seek to determine the facts surrounding Koehler’s death and a jury will be tasked with classifying it as accidental, homicide, natural causes, suicide or undetermined and making recommendations to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.

The interaction began when staff reported to police that Koehler was intoxicated and causing a disturbance.

According to the IIO reportwhich was compiled from statements from multiple witnesses and security video, the interaction with police began calmly and one officer took Koehler’s ID and asked him to come out, but he denied.

About two minutes later, Koehler snatched the ID from the officer, and the officer moved to grab it. A violent fight “immediately” ensued between Koehler and three officers, who struggled to control him.

The report says Koehler threw the officers off of him, overturned a table and chairs in their direction and repeatedly refused to get on the ground, saying it would kill him. The police beat him several times, but apparently unsuccessfully, many times.

After a fourth officer arrived as backup and further difficulty ensued, police eventually had Koehler lie face down on the ground when he allegedly “went limp.”

Officers began CPR until firefighters and paramedics arrived. Koehler was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A toxicology test determined he had cocaine, methamphetamine, the metabolite TCH and naloxone in his system. Koehler’s autopsy stated that the cause of his death was the combined effect of drug toxicity, dilated cardiomyopathy and struggles during physical restraint.

“While significant force was used against (Koehler) during the arrest, in the form of (conducted energy weapon) deployments, (pepper spray) and beatings, the need for that level of force was created by (its) own violent resistance,” former IIO director Ronald MacDonald concluded in the report.

“There is no suggestion that any of these uses of force caused or contributed to (Koehler’s) death or even caused significant injury,” he continued. “(Koehler) suffered from numerous serious health problems and was in further danger due to his drug use, but the officers charged with resolving the situation and arresting him could not be expected to foresee that the struggle to achieve this would result in his death. »

The inquest will begin on December 2 at 9:30 a.m. at the Burnaby Coroner’s Court, with Kimberly Isbister presiding. The jury will hear witnesses, determine the facts surrounding the death and may make recommendations, but it will not be able to find legal responsibility for any party involved.