A breakdown in communications prevented an Alberta father learning about the death of his son eight months earlier, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said Thursday.
“There was a gap. What happened was wrong and we need to work with the coroners service to fix that,” said Manak. “No other family needs to go through this. One time is too many.”
Three weeks ago, Glen Grier learned from a Google search that his 35-year-old son, Scott, had died from a fentanyl overdose on May 16 last year and had been cremated and buried at Hatley Memorial Gardens without his knowledge.
Learning of Scott’s death that way was devastating, said the Stony Plain father, who went public in his search to find out why he wasn’t notified of Scott’s death.
Today, Grier was to receive more information about what went wrong in a Zoom call with the coroner and Victoria police.
During the past two weeks, both Manak and Deputy Chief Jason Laidman have phoned Grier and promised a comprehensive review.
“I wanted to touch base and recognize what a terrible situation this was for the family. I also wanted to pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family for the loss of their son,” said the chief.
According to Manak, when a person dies in a hospital or care home, the responsibility for notifying next-of-kin falls to the coroner.
“That’s quite clear. There’s no ambiguity around that. It’s written in the police-coroner [memorandum of understanding],” he said.
In Scott Grier’s case, Victoria police responded in a secondary role to assist paramedics trying to save him from a drug overdose.
“This person was transported to the hospital. He was alive, so our role ended,” said Manak. “It was only the next day we were notified by the coroner that this person died in hospital. The person did not die while police were there.”
The police file from May 2022 states that the police supervisor clarified with the coroner whose responsibility it was going to be to do next-of-kin notification.
“And the coroner, at that stage, told our officer that the hospital would take care of the next-of- kin notification, that it would be done by a social worker at the hospital,” said Manak.
Despite witness statements, photos and tattoo records, Scott Grier was not properly identified.
“Eleven days later, we received a call from the coroner, who asked if we would send out a forensic identification officer to fingerprint the deceased and confirm the identity,” said Manak.
The fingerprints confirmed that the person who died of a drug overdose was Scott Grier.
“There’s no reason for us to assume, at this stage, that Victoria police would now take over the responsibility to conduct the next-of-kin notification. We had already clarified that. We had spoken to the coroner and documented it in the file,” said Manak.
“But this is really where the crux of the miscommunication occurs. We’d been told 11 days earlier the coroner was going to look after it.
“The coroner’s MOU said they can delegate responsibility to the police, but this wasn’t done.”
Manak has assured Glen Grier that Victoria police would make the necessary recommendations to the coroner to make sure the process is tightened up.
“At the end of the day, there’s no way that any parents should ever learn about the death of their child in the way Mr. Grier learned about the death of his son,” said Manak.
During the Zoom call, Victoria police will answer the family’s questions and do what they can to facilitate closure for the family, said Manak.
“Mr. Grier is looking for answers and he deserves answers. The family deserves answers,” said the chief.
Victoria police has sent an email to officers reminding them of the importance of being thorough on next-of-kin notification.
The B.C. Coroners Service did not respond to a request for information Thursday.
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