Monday marked day one of the inquest into the in-custody death of Bernard Quewezance - who died at the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre in 2022.

With coroner Frederick Kovach presiding, a jury of three Indigenous peoples and three non-Indigenous peoples was deemed appropriate due to Quewezance’s Indigenous descent.

The 37-year-old was found unresponsive in his cell at the correctional centre on June 2, 2022.

EMS was called and staff began life-saving efforts, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.

The first witness called on Monday was correctional officer Ronal Orellana. He told the inquest that on the day he died, Quewezance was causing a disturbance, reportedly kicking and elbowing his cell door.

When asked if he knew the reasoning behind this behavior, Orellana claimed he did not know.

Orellana testified that he and his partner went to Quewezance’s cell to remove his shoes, to prevent him from harming himself.

According to Orellana, Quewezance then forced his way out of the cell and had to be restrained by a group of officers because he was being combative and non-compliant.

Orellana claimed Quewezance was also incoherent at the time but eventually calmed down and was placed back in his cell. Orellana then headed back to his original post, two floors above where Quewezance’s cell was.

Orellana stated that a short time later he had a gut instinct that something was off – leading the corrections officer to return to Quewezance’s cell to check up on him. Orellana testified that he found Quewezance lying face down, not moving or breathing.

He called for assistance, and a Code Blue was called soon after.

A total of eight witnesses will be called during the inquest, which is expected to last through Wednesday.