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Inquest called into man's death in police custody
Wilfred Asham is seen in an undated family photo. (FAMILY PHOTO / CBC)
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WINNIPEG - An inquest has been called by Manitoba’s chief medical examiner into the Sept. 2, 2007 death of 19-year-old man in a city police holding room at the downtown Public Safety Building.
Chief medical examiner Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra said in a statement Friday the circumstances leading up the death of Wilfred Lesley Asham will be examined during the hearing to see what, if anything, can be done to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future.
Because Asham died in police custody, an inquest is mandatory under Manitoba’s Fatality Inquiries Act.
In autopsy determined Asham’s cause of death was "probable cardiac arrhythmia." The same report said the manner of death was undetermined.
Asham had been taken into custody at around 1 a.m. for the alleged theft of a minivan. Police had spotted the vehicle a short time earlier going through a red light. Police followed it — it was not a high-speed pursuit — to where it had crashed into a chain link fence near Elgin Avenue and Jordan Street.
Asham and another man tried to flee, but were soon arrested and handcuffed. Both were then to the Public Safety Building.
Asham was placed in an interview room, where he collapsed. Paramedics were called and a police officer started CPR. Asham was rushed to the Health Sciences Centre, but attempts to resuscitate him failed. He was pronounced dead at 2:06 a.m.
Family members have said say the autopsy report found no traces of hard drugs in his system.
The toxicology report did find trace amounts of marijuana, said Asham’s stepfather, Louis Vosters, and a blood alcohol level of 0.118. The legal limit in Manitoba is 0.08.
The family has also said Asham did not have a heart problem.
An inquest date has not been set.
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