A community gathering is planned in memory of Curtis Brick, who died last summer after lying in the heat for hours in a Vancouver park.

“This was a needless and preventable death,” Kat Norris, with the Indigenous Action Movement, told the Straight today (July 27) by phone.

On the anniversary Brick’s death, demands continue for a coroner’s inquest into the tragedy.

Following the incident in Grandview Park on July 29, 2009, allegations surfaced that emergency personnel had mistreated the down-and-out aboriginal man.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has joined others calling for an inquest.

“It is important to ensure that all service providers understand the dangers of heat exposure and the need for vigilance and caring in dealing with disadvantaged persons,” BCCLA president Robert Holmes says in a news release.

The memorial event in Grandview Park takes place on Thursday, July 29, at 5:30 p.m.