Former London, Ont. cop sentenced in death of woman in his custody

A London courtroom heard how Debra Chrisjohn, a mother of 11 children, had her fair share of struggles during her life. However, the Crown argued that she was not given medical attention on the night she was arrested by London police in September of 2016.

Officers learned that Chrisjohn, 39, was wanted on an OPP warrant when Const. Nicholas Doering was transferring her in his cruiser to the detachment in St. Thomas and she became unresponsive.

Justice Renee Pomerance said, “The accused did not take Ms. Chrisjohn to the hospital nor did he obtain any medical care or attention for her despite the fact her condition drastically deteriorated over the 45 minutes that she was in his custody.”

Chrisjohn would die from a cardiac arrest connected to crystal meth use.

Doering would be convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing death, however the latter would be overturned after an appeal.

Since the death, the court heard that Doering has lost his job as an officer, suffers from post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues.

Pomerance added, “This is said to be as a result of the death of the victim.”

The judge said the case highlighted a breached of public trust and handed Doering a conditional sentence of 18 months, with much of it spend in house arrest.

Before wrapping up, Pomerance said, “The death of an Indigenous woman in police custody has impact beyond the parties before the court.”