Sister of VPD officer Nicole Chan testified she felt aimless before suicide

Photo: The Canadian Press

The sister of a Vancouver police officer who died by suicide told a coroner's inquest she believed Const. Nicole Chan was being blackmailed to have sex with another officer in the department. Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The sister of a Vancouver police officer who died by suicide told a coroner's inquest she believed Const. Nicole Chan was being blackmailed to have sex with another officer in the department.

Jennifer Chan told the inquest she believed her sister's mental health problems stemmed from a sexual assault by her co-worker, culminating in her death by suicide in January 2019.

Chan said her sister Nicole struggled with anxiety and depression after she complained to the police chief in 2017 about inappropriate relationships that she had with two senior officers.

She said her sister felt aimless about where her life was headed before her death, that her career had stalled and she had no other job prospects.

Chan described her sister as "very ambitious" and said she joined the Vancouver Police Department to "speak up for victims," but that she felt other officers may no longer want to work with her.

A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of her family last year claims Nicole Chan died during a severe mental health crisis after being "extorted" by an officer to continue a sexual relationship.