Jury issues recommendations in Dube inquest

A jury has released its recommendations after an inquest into the death of a teenager after a police chase that ended in the Niagara Gorge two years ago.

Ryan Dube died on July 24, 2012 when he plunged nine stories down the side of the Niagara Gorge. He was being pursued by constable Jacob Smits, who wanted him on a probation violation. Dube was pronounced dead on the bottom of the Gorge after suffering severe trauma. Paramedics couldn’t get to him because they couldn’t rappel down the side of the gorge.

The recommendations made this morning include that emergency services in Niagara should be working closely together, that the base hospital should have a policy to determine when a patient in the gorge or in a place difficult to access is declared dead. As well, they concluded police officers in Niagara should be made aware of the dangers of the Niagara gorge and other dangerous places.

The family is not happy with those recommendations. They say they should have gone farther, that Dube’s death should not have been declared an accident, and that constable Smits should have radioed for assistance when Dube fled.

Lawyers and the coroner agree that the police officers and all emergency services should be receiving commendations for their efforts rather than recommendations.