Inquest into RIH parkade death begins

Apr 11, 2016 | 11:01 AM

KAMLOOPS — A coroners’ inquest begins today in the death of Jacob George Setah.

Setah was the young man who fell to his death from the top of the Royal Inland Hospital parkade in June of 2014.

He had previously been committed to the hospital psychiatric ward under the Mental Health Act, and RCMP had joined hospital staff in trying to return him to the facility.

BC Coroners Service spokesperson Barb McLintock says the jury will try to determine what happened, and how situations like this could be prevented in the future.

“[They] will hear all the facts out in open court and aside from the normal findings of classification of death, who it was, when and where he died and so forth, the jury will also make recommendations, whatever they see fit, on any of the aspects that they hear during the inquest,” said McLintock.

McLintock notes the jury is not allowed to find fault.

Because of the presence of Kamloops RCMP officers at Setah’s death, the Independent Investigations Office has already looked into the incident, finding no wrongdoing.