Officer Tells Story of Booking Bouey

Monday, November 02, 2009 05:30 PM

Prince George , B.C.- An RCMP Officer broke out in tears today as she testified before a Coroner’s jury into the death of 42 year old Cheryl Anne Bouey in police cells on June 26th, 2008.

The Inquest being conducted before Coroner Rodrick MacKenzie was told by Constable Hornoi how she went into holding cell number 5 and attempted to take a pulse from the woman. She said “There was no pulse and I believe she had been dead for some time”.

Constable Hornoi testified that she had earlier frisked Bouey after she had been brought to the City RCMP detachment following a complaint from a neighbourhood pub in College Heights.

She removed Bouey’s jacket and a necklace before placing the woman in a holding cell. Constable Hornoi said she had to keep telling a man brought in with Bouey to sit down and be quiet, after it appeared the two were arguing.

It was in that cell that Bouey, who had removed her jogging pants and began swinging them at the cell bars, was able to take the small cord from inside the rubber waist band and fashion it into a noose which she then placed around her neck, then attached the cord to a bar in the cell, and then slumped down , cutting the circulation of blood to her brain.

Pathologist Dr Vernon Bowes testified earlier that five or six seconds with the blood not circulating to the brain would cause some to lose consciousness , and death would come with 25 to 30 seconds if no blood was circulating to the brain.

Hornoi told the inquest that Bouey was really drunk and really upset. It had been the police hope that when the pair sobered up they would be released from custody the following morning. “She was a mess” Constable Hornoi said, “but there was never any suggestion that she would harm herself”.

Speaking with tears in her eyes Constable Hornoi said, “Had I seen the cord, I would have taken it away.”

The Coroner’s inquest resumes on Tuesday.

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Posted on Monday, November 02, 2009 05:30 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: corruption on November 2 2009 6:10 PM

i say its the constables fault for not properly checking on the suspect or checking her for cords in her pants.i would be suing big time if i was a relative.all this because the cops wanted to throw some 42 yr old lady in the drunk tank for causing a disturbance.why not just drive her home and save everyone the head ache.

Posted by: My3Centsworth on November 2 2009 6:34 PM

You'd like to sue everyone this week wouldn't you?

Posted by: tazed on November 2 2009 6:37 PM

I could kill myself in my kitchen right now and you would find a way to blame the RCMP corruption... grow up and think about what your saying!

Posted by: Mercenary on November 2 2009 6:53 PM

Give it up corruption. The cops had nothing to do with it. This lady would have committed suicide at some point. Be it in jail or at home.

Posted by: borneo60 on November 2 2009 6:54 PM

If one is going to take one's own life, it doesn't matter how much prevention you want to take,it will be done.

Posted by: Palopu on November 2 2009 7:38 PM

A person who is drunk in not rational, and therefore I doubt if she really intended to take her life.

This appears to be a series of incidents that ended badly.

Lets let the Coroners Jury decide the issue.

Posted by: kidar on November 2 2009 9:40 PM

Palopu is bang on as there are many questions and circumstances to come. It's interesting that "corruption" is such a bitter person. Why do you think the government has inquests?

Posted by: supertech on November 2 2009 11:05 PM

A woman committed suicide in cells. Ta da. Lets get on with important things and stop spending money on useless inquests and cop shops.

Posted by: StreetWise2 on November 3 2009 10:49 AM

"why not just drive her home and save everyone the head ache."

If the RCMP had done that she probably would have committed suicide at home and the RCMP would get attacked for not keeping her in custody.

Believe it or not, police officers are only human and can't be perfect all the time.

It's easy to sit in your armchair and complain - not so easy to try to deal with the emotional impact that this one mistake is going to have on that officer for the rest of her life.