B.C. coroner confirms former RCMP spokesman died of suicide by hanging

VANCOUVER – B.C.’s coroner service has confirmed a former RCMP spokesman who became the public face of the force in the early days of the Robert Dziekanski story died by suicide.

Pierre Lemaitre died on July 29 after he was found hanging in his home in Abbotsford.

A news release from the coroner says emergency personnel attended Lemaitre’s home, but could not resuscitate him.

Lemaitre was the force’s spokesman in the days following Dziekanski’s death at Vancouver’s airport, where the Polish man was stunned with a Taser during a confrontation with the RCMP.

The Mounties, and Lemaitre in particular, faced allegations they misled the public after an amateur video emerged of the incident that appeared to contradict what Lemaitre had told reporters.

Commissioner Thomas Braidwood, who led a public inquiry into Dziekanski’s death, concluded Lemaitre was “well-intentioned” and was doing his best to inform the public in the early stages of an investigation that had yet to determine the facts.