Coroner’s inquest scheduled for man who died during fight with Whistler RCMP [Video]

A Coroner’s inquest has been scheduled to look into the circumstances around a man’s death during a confrontation with the RCMP in Whistler, B.C., more than four years ago.

Jason Elwyn Koehler, who was 47 and owned a business in the municipality, died on March 8, 2020, after police officers tased, pepper-sprayed, punched and beat him with a baton while attempting to apprehend him at a Whistler Village restaurant.

The province’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., ruled the police did not use excessive force and did not find grounds to believe the involved officers committed any offences in relation to his death.

Coroner’s inquests are mandatory for any deaths that occur while a person is detained or in custody of the police.

The inquest will seek to determine the facts around Koehler’s death and a jury will be tasked with classifying it—as accidental, homicide, natural, suicide or …