No charges in homeless man's death

From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Saturday, Jun. 20, 2009

Police response doesn't qualify as criminal negligence, investigation finds

Jonathan Guitard was never the “squeaky wheel.”

He didn't complain about his drug and alcohol addictions, his homelessness or his struggles with mental illness in his role as affable ambassador to the hundreds of people coming through the doors of Victoria's Our Place Society.

And he died in similar silence, unconscious on the street in the early-morning, below-freezing December air for hours after a call was made to police to pick him up.

The results of an investigation released yesterday by the Victoria Police Department found that, although the person answering the phone at the other end of the line the night Mr. Guitard died contravened policy and indirectly contributed to Mr. Guitard's death, it didn't qualify as criminal negligence that would result in charges.

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