Grant McLeod died shortly after Whitehorse RCMP arrested him at this hotel in August 2008. (CBC)

A Yukon coroner's inquest jury heard more testimony on Tuesday of how Whitehorse RCMP officers struggled to handcuff a suspect who died shortly afterward.

The week-long inquest is examining the circumstances that led up to the death of Grant McLeod, 39, not long after he was arrested on Aug. 30, 2008.

Police arrested McLeod after receiving complaints that he was staggering around the Chilkoot Trail Inn with a hypodermic needle in his hand.

But shortly after McLeod was handcuffed, he went into medical distress and died.

Although an autopsy suggested that McLeod had a lethal amount of cocaine in his system, the inquest was called because he died in police custody.

The six-person jury heard a taped statement Tuesday from a hotel guest who said he saw a number of RCMP officers on top of McLeod, trying to control him, upstairs at the hotel.

The guest said McLeod looked pale as police started carrying him downstairs.

'Abnormal' strength

Const. Jason McDonald told the inquest Tuesday that McLeod was the strongest person he had encountered in his 16 years with the RCMP.

McDonald testified that McLeod was seen wandering through an upstairs hallway, shaking his head back and forth, rubbing his fingertips along the side of his head in a rapid motion, and muttering, "The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."

Police yelled to McLeod that they were arresting him under the Mental Health Act, but McLeod did not respond, McDonald testified.

When the officers tried to subdue McLeod, he lurched forward with the two officers hanging on to him. McDonald described McLeod's strength as "abnormal."

McDonald testified that he feared for his safety as the officers struggled to bring McLeod under control.

McDonald said he then requested assistance over his radio, bringing all officers on duty to the hotel.

Stopped breathing

Another officer, Cpl. Robert MacDougall, testified that McLeod stopped breathing while officers carried him downstairs. They then tried unsuccessfully to revive him in the lobby.

When a lawyer for McLeod's daughter asked McDonald why police didn't just let McLeod wander the halls until help arrived, McDonald said that that was not a choice, given the potential threat McLeod posed to hotel staff and guests.

The inquest began Monday with testimony from guests and staff, including the night desk clerk.

In a videotaped statement given to police after the incident, the female clerk said she saw McLeod come out of a hotel bathroom around 7 a.m. that day, waving what appeared to be a syringe.

The clerk told police she had locked herself in the hotel's office while she called police, saying she was scared to see McLeod "whacked out."

The clerk said she heard police struggling to arrest McLeod upstairs, then saw four officers bring him down the stairs and lay him in the lobby.

The inquest jury had to watch the police tape of the clerk's account because she refused to testify, even under threat of arrest.

Coroner's inquests do not assign blame, but try to determine how to avoid similar deaths in the future.