After four days of testimony, all evidence was presented at the inquest into the death of Austin Eaglechief.

Two witnesses, a toxicologist and a paramedic, took the stand on Thursday to mark the final day of the proceedings at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.

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Coroner’s inquest underway following police chase that resulted in suspect’s death

Toxicologist Kimberley Young determined meth, alcohol, amphetamine and cannabis were in his system at the time of death based on blood, urine and eye fluid samples.

Young said it is too difficult to determine how impaired he was at the time of the collision because the concentration of drugs can change after death. She added his alcohol level was below the legal limit, but the amount of meth in his system was toxic.

The paramedic was the first medical professional to assess Eaglechief following the crash. Justine Thalheimer told the panel she checked his pulse at his wrist multiple times but couldn’t find one. She added he was taking about one breath a minute.

The incident started after Eaglechief was said to have stolen a Chevrolet Silverado with a lift kit in the early morning on June 19, 2017.

He led members of the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) in on-and-off chases for 17 hours that day, even ramming a police cruiser with an officer inside of it when he was surrounded in the cul-de-sac at Clearwater Place.

Eaglechief died after he crashed into another vehicle on Circle Drive at Airport Drive while evading police.

A report from a collision analyst stated he was travelling as fast as 162 kilometres per hour seconds before impact.

The six-member jury came back from deliberation, offering four recommendations to SPS in order to prevent similar deaths from happening.

The first recommendation is to review/implement policies around vehicle stops, specifically around chasing large vehicles.

Second was about getting police adequate equipment for high-risk traffic stops, including larger vehicles, push bars, and remote disabling stop sticks.

The third recommendation was for police to have a heavy-duty vehicle on standby and officers trained for vehicular threats.

Lastly, the jury said the air support unit (ASU) should have its hours of availability expanded to 24/7 to mitigate risks as well as protect public and officer safety.

The recommendations are not mandatory.

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