Death of Windsor, Ont., man after police released him doesn't meet mandatory inquest criteria, coroner says

The death of a Windsor, Ont., man who collapsed shortly after being released from police headquarters doesn't meet the criteria for a mandatory inquest, the Office of the Chief Coroner says.

Colin Grey was detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing upon his return from an American Thanksgiving family gathering in Detroit. His detention was due to suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Grey, 63, was transferred to Windsor Police Service (WPS). He died just after being released from police custody on Nov. 29.

On Feb. 4, Grey's family wrote to the Office of the Chief Coroner, urging that it formally investigate his death.

But Stephanie Rea, issues manager in the Office of the Chief Coroner, said an inquest would not be held at this time.

"The Office of the Chief Coroner has received a request for an inquest into Mr. Grey's death," Rea wrote in an email to CBC News. 

"As Mr. Grey's death does not meet the criteria of a mandatory inquest under the Coroners Act, a decision regarding an inquest will be made after the death investigation is complete. Death investigations can take many months to complete."

They failed to ask a human being if he was OK.- Rose Grey, Colin Grey's widow

Rea said the Office of the Chief Coroner, which investigates all deaths that occur suddenly and unexpectedly in Ontario, is conducting the investigation into Grey's death.

CBC News reached out to Windsor police for comment but did not hear back.

Grey's son, Christian, who was with him at the border, said he was too weak to blow hard enough to provide a breath sample and officers determined that to be a refusal.

Following Grey's death, the CBSA told CBC News it followed all its protocols with respect to the case.

Those protocols include asking individuals they deal with if they have any medical conditions, when they ate their last meal and checking on them every 15 minutes in a detention cell. A spokesperson also said CCTV footage of those detention cells is "monitored to ensure the individual's health and safety."

Grey had Type 2 diabetes, family says

According to Grey's family, the Type 2 diabetic was exhibiting symptoms officers took for alcohol impairment but that his family says were due to low blood sugar. And, they say, law enforcement was told multiple times over Grey's six hours in custody that he was diabetic and needed help. 

"They failed to ask a human being if he was okay — that's the first thing they should have done," Grey's wife, Rose, wrote in a news release on Thursday. "Instead, they accused him of driving while under the influence."

The family has planned a news conference for Feb. 11 as part of their campaign to get answers.

"It is difficult to talk about Colin's death because it is so fresh in our minds, but we know this is the best way to keep the pressure on authorities to give us answers. We want justice for my husband, and we will do everything in our power to get it for him," Rose said in the release.

'Far too many unanswered questions,' lawyer says

The family's lawyer, D. Joel Dick, said the family strongly believes a coroner's inquest is the best vehicle to look at underlying public policy questions and to understand the interaction and information sharing practices between the CBSA and WPS.

"There are far too many unanswered questions. The answers the family and the public need clearly call out for an inquest," he said. 

"The Grey family needs this information to help them find a sense of closure, and the public deserves to know if and how negligence by authorities may have contributed to this preventable death. A tragedy such as this should have never happened, but it would add insult to injury if lessons are not learned from it."

Inquests are mandatory when a death occurs while a person is in custody or being detained, except in circumstances where a death investigation determines the death occurred from natural causes, according to a government website.