The family of a woman who died while in the custody of White Rock RCMP five years ago say they are still waiting for answers, including whether changes to prevent it from happening again will be recommended.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the IIO has forgotten about us in any means,鈥� the woman鈥檚 daughter, Ely Wilson, said Wednesday (May 19), noting she has had regular contact with Independent Investigation Office officials over the years. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 some bureaucracy going on behind the scenes that鈥檚 slowly been impacting the investigation.鈥�

The IIO began looking into the death of Patricia Anne Wilson after she was found unresponsive on the morning of March 29, 2016, four days after her arrest and less than four hours after she had been assessed by paramedics.

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Ely Wilson said that she and her siblings know from a coroner鈥檚 report that their mom died from blood poisoning, and that the 58-year-old had asked for medical help 鈥渟everal times鈥� prior to being found unresponsive.

They don鈥檛 know if the septicemia was linked to drug withdrawal, or why she wasn鈥檛 taken to hospital, but they believe a lack of training may have played a role in her death.

鈥淏ecause she was an active drug user, her body went into withdrawals, and although she requested to receive medical service several times, she wasn鈥檛 taken to the hospital,鈥� Wilson said.

鈥淎nd so it鈥檚 our feeling that the people who were working at the jail didn鈥檛 have adequate training or an adequate ability to understand the fact that drug withdrawals can be deadly to people, and that they didn鈥檛 listen to her when she requested help.鈥�

IIO Chief Civilian Director Ron MacDonald said Wednesday that the case is the agency鈥檚 longest investigation to date, and that it remains to be seen whether or not the matter will be referred for charges. There are times when investigations lead to 鈥渟ome commentary鈥� suggesting opportunities for improvement or change, he said.

As example, MacDonald cited a 2019 case in which an individual died in Kamloops cells. That investigation cleared the Mounties of any wrongdoing, however, 鈥淚, at that point, publicly stated the use of sobering centres is something that ought to be looked at more 鈥� (that) it鈥檚 probably better not to hold intoxicated persons, whether it be by alcohol or drugs, in police cells, but other facilities where there might be medical attention more readily available may be a more appropriate way to handle those types of situations,鈥� MacDonald said.

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鈥淚n (the White Rock) case鈥� it may well be a circumstance where we will go forward with some comment.鈥�

Describing the case as 鈥渧ery unique in nature,鈥� MacDonald said it 鈥渉as involved and is involved with an extensive review of a number of things, including not only the facts of this case, but RCMP policy and practices surrounding these types of cases.鈥�

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Obtaining the materials necessary for that review from RCMP required 鈥渄iscussion with the commissioner on this matter to help,鈥� he continued.

鈥淭hat took some time,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur request was different than normal, and I don鈥檛 want to get into the details of that. But to be fair to them, it wasn鈥檛 a usual request. We had a conversation about it and they were co-operative thereafter, it just took them a long time to gather the information that we were looking for. And now it鈥檚 taking us a long time to go through it.鈥�

Staff Sgt. Kale Pauls, who took over the helm of the White Rock detachment in late 2019, said he could not comment on the IIO investigation 鈥渦ntil they release their report.鈥�

MacDonald said he is hopeful the investigation could conclude later this year. He noted the IIO鈥檚 increased case load 鈥� it doubled this past fiscal year to 232 compared to two years ago 鈥� has limited the resources that can be devoted to it. As well, the pandemic 鈥渉as made us a little less efficient.鈥�

Wilson said her mom was a 鈥渟uper outgoing鈥� super social鈥� person who struggled with addiction through her adult life, but particularly after the death of her own mother. She 鈥渢ried really hard鈥� to overcome it, and had periods of sobriety that stretched as long as five years.

Noting her mom isn鈥檛 the first intoxicated person to succumb in police cells, Wilson said her family鈥檚 focus is on ensuring others are spared a similar experience.

鈥淧eople have died before because of it. We just want to make sure this doesn鈥檛 happen to someone else.鈥�