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Fentanyl contributed to death of well-known Saanich figure ‘Mayor’ Dave

A well-known Saanich homeless person known as ‘Mayor Dave’ died of an “unintentional illicit drug overdose” involving fentanyl.
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A report finds ‘Mayor’ Dave Armitage died of an “unintentional illicit drug overdose” involving fentanyl with hypothermia listed as the other significant condition contributing to death. The homeless person was well known inside and outside Saanich’s Gorge-Tillicum neighbourhood. His body was found on Dec. 28. Black Press Files.

A well-known Saanich homeless person known as ‘Mayor Dave’ died of an “unintentional illicit drug overdose” involving fentanyl.

So reads the final coroner’s report into the death of Dave Armitage, the 58-year-old Saanich man found dead on Dec. 28, 2016 in Gorge Park.

The report signed by Coroner Terry Dixon of BC Coroners Service lists “Fentanyl toxicity” as the immediate cause of death with hypothermia listed as the other significant condition contributing to death.

“Mr. Armitage was not a known user of illicit drugs,” writes Dixon in his report. “When found, no drug paraphernalia was found in the area. An external examination of the body found no indication of how the drugs were ingested. There was no sign of injury or trauma and no indication of foul play.”

Dixon’s report states that the toxicological analysis of Armitage’s blood showed the “presence of fentanyl, cocaine and benzolecgonine,” a metabolite of cocaine. “The fentanyl level was found to be within a range where therapeutic and non-lethal concentrations overlap. Cocaine benzolecgonine (a cocaine metabolite) were detected showing recent use.”

These findings leads Dixon to conclusion that Armitage’s death was “accidental.” It also does not include any recommendations for further actions.

This report means Armitage belongs to the 670 British Columbians, who fentanyl or its analogues in their system following their death. In 2017, this number had risen to 1,156, a 73 per cent increase. In 2017, officials detected fentanyl or its analogues in about 81 per cent of illicit drug overdose deaths, according to a report from the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services.

The report does not say how or from whom Armitage had acquired the fentanyl. This said, the report helps fill out — albeit only partially — the puzzle that was Armitage.

While living in the Gorge-Tillicum area of Saanich, Armitage crossed countless social barriers in striking up friendships with individuals from a wide variety of walks of life living in and outside area. He befriended community leaders, local entrepreneurs, their staff and their clients, and his death prompted a public outpouring of grief.

In fact, more than an estimated 200 people crowded into a Saanich church on Jan. 15, 2017 to remember Armitage as a person who gave so much to his community despite having so little himself.

The 58-year-old man had struggled with homelessness and hereditary schizophrenia prior to his death and the discovery of his body at about 9:17 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2016.

The report notes that Armitage had last been seen alive on Dec. 27, 2016 by workers in a nearby mall.

A week after Armitage’s death, Saanich residents also mourned death of Peter Verin, whom many had known as the Shopping Cart Philosopher.



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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