Suicide of Nicole Chan

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Nicole Chan was a Vancouver Police Department officer who took her own life in 2019. Chan made allegations of being the victim of sexual coercion from supervising officers prior to her death.

Contents

Background

In late 2018, Chan filed a claim with the British Columbia statutory body WorkSafeBC that alleged she was a victim of sexual coercion from two supervising officers in 2017. [1] She was on stress leave from work for three weeks prior to her death. [2] Her colleagues told the inquest into her death that she had been the target of gossip and worked in a "toxic workplace environment". Testimony stated that she submitted complaints about two senior officers, one of which included an allegation of sexual assault. [3]

Death

Chan died by suicidal strangulation [4] on the morning [2] of January 27, 2019. [1] She had been released from Vancouver General Hospital the subsequent evening after being taken to hospital under British Columbia's Mental Health Act, [1] after threatening suicide. [5] After her release from hospital, she expressed dissatisfaction that police human resources staff had gone to the hospital. [3]

Her body was discovered by her boyfriend in her apartment. [2]

Aftermath

After a 2019 police investigation, [6] one of her supervising officers was dismissed by the police force for discreditable conduct; the police force did not hold a public hearing into the dismissal. [7] Her family launched litigation against the police force, Chan's supervisor and the City of Vancouver in January 2022. [8]

During the 2023 British Columbia coroners inquest into her death, the legal representative of the Chan family shared the allegations of sexual coercion. [1] [2] At the end of the coroner's inquest, the jury made twelve recommendations, [3] including "better communication between community health care providers, police and paramedics and the hospital physician treating a patient with a mental health emergency", as well as improvements to Vancouver Police training. [9] [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Larsen, Karin (25 Jan 2023). "Sexual coercion by 2 VPD supervisors alleged in claim made by Const. Nicole Chan before she died". CBC. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Charlebois, Brieanna (2023-01-24). "Constable Nicole Chan pleaded for 'justice' in victim statement before suicide". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. 1 2 3 Hyslop, Jen St Denis and Katie (2023-02-09). "A Tragic End to Nicole Chan's Fight for Justice in the VPD". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  4. 1 2 Larsen, Karin (1 Feb 2023). "Const. Nicole Chan inquest jury recommends better communication between doctors, changes to VPD policy". CBC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Larsen, Karin (27 Jan 2023). "Hospital psychiatrist gives contradicting evidence at inquest into death of VPD Const. Nicole Chan". CBC. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Scott (2019-06-05). "VPD officers investigated over relationships with subordinate who took her own life". British Columbia. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  7. ↑ "No public hearing over firing of Vancouver officer who had relationship with junior constable". CBC. 6 Mar 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Family of junior cop who took her own life sues Vancouver police". CBC. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Verdict at Coroners Inquest Archived 2023-02-02 at the Wayback Machine , British Columbia Government, 2023
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