Members of Bradley Stadey's family will be attending any inquiry or coroner's inquest that is established to look into the details surrounding his death, said his aunt who contacted The Mercury last week when informed of her nephew's demise while in custody at the Estevan Police Service building on the night of Dec. 19 and early morning hours of Dec. 20.
The family said that Stadey was working in the Estevan area and was commuting from the labour camp just outside the city and that he had a home in Thunder Bay, so was "not of no fixed address."
Margaret Stadey said the family is searching for answers regarding her nephew's untimely death while he was detained in Estevan Police Service cells that particular evening.
Stadey had been taken into custody by members of the RCMP who had responded to a disturbance call from the labour camp on the night of Dec. 19. He was transported to the EPS cells for overnight detention, which is a common practice due to an agreement the two policing agencies have with regards to custody arrangements. Stadey died sometime between 9 p.m., Dec. 19 and 9 a.m., Dec. 20.
Protocol requires an independent investigation be established to look into the incident and for that purpose the Major Crimes Unit of the Regina Police Service has been assigned the task with an independent observer, Larry Peters, a former Moose Jaw Police Service officer also being assigned to the case.
Sergeant Caroline Houston has been leading the investigative team from Regina. There is no word yet as to when the investigation may wind up, pending further information from toxicology and other forensic reports. It is expected that a coroner's inquest will be conducted at some point in the process.
Stadey's family said he was a heavy equipment operator for an Estevan construction company at the time of his death. They said he grew up in the Thunder Bay and Upsala area of Ontario before moving to Port Moody B.C. and then Estevan. He is survived by two children, two sisters and a brother plus numerous aunts and uncles. The family said he will be buried in Riverside Cemetery in Thunder Bay.
Estevan police Chief Del Block said that certain reports such as toxicology results often take a few months to complete so he could not speculate as to when the investigation would be completed, but it would be pretty well guaranteed that an inquest will be called by the Regina investigative team and the provincial coroner so that the details surrounding the death will be made known.