VANCOUVER - A lawyer for a jail sergeant who refused to admit a heavily intoxicated man to Vancouver's drunk tank said Friday the officer wasn't being callous and that other staff at the facility also believed the man wasn't drunk.

Kevin Woodall, who represents former Sgt. Russell Sanderson, told an inquiry into the freezing death of the aboriginal man that his client believed it was wrong to hold someone in jail when he didn't deserve to be there.

It's been alleged Sanderson lied during his testimony earlier at the inquiry and in his duty report about the Dec. 5, 1998 incident, when Frank Paul was turned away from the drunk tank.

Paul, 48, was picked up for drunkenness twice that day, but he was refused admission the second time because Sanderson believed he couldn't have had enough time to get drunk again.

Sanderson told Const. David Instant, who'd brought Paul to the drunk tank the second time, to remove him from the facility because he didn't appear intoxicated.

Instant left Paul in an alley, where the man died of hypothermia a few hours later.

Woodall said Sanderson was not reckless or acting in bad faith, as has been suggested at the inquiry where native groups have said racism was a key factor in the way Paul was treated.

"The question of whether the jail staff and Sgt. Sanderson were correct in their conclusion that Mr. Paul was not intoxicated is a matter for proper debate," he told the inquiry on its final day.

"But it is impossible, in my submission, to understand the allegation that Sgt. Sanderson was not telling the truth when he said in his statement and in his evidence that in his mind he decided not to hold Mr. Paul in jail because he did not believe that Mr. Paul was intoxicated."

A video recording presented earlier at the inquiry showed Paul's limp body being dragged in and out of the drunk tank by Instant and a jail guard who worked there.

Woodall said the guard, Greg Firlotte, was among several staffers who also thought Paul was not drunk.

Firlotte has told the inquiry that the chronic alcoholic's legs were in such bad shape that he couldn't walk when he was brought to the jail. He said a nurse at the facility didn't assess him and an ambulance wasn't called.

Woodall said Sanderson asked Paul where he lived and that the sergeant then instructed Instant to take the man to an intersection on Vancouver's west side.

But Instant has testified he was confused because he had no address for the homeless man and didn't know where to leave him.

Woodall said Instant decided to leave Paul in an alley behind a detox centre after seeking instructions from a senior constable instead of getting clearer direction from Sanderson, his superior, in accordance with the Vancouver Police Department's policy.

Woodall admitted Sanderson erred by not giving Instant, a junior officer, more explicit instructions about where to take the homeless man.

"Sgt. Sanderson acknowledges that he alone bears responsibility for the inadequacy of the instructions and Const. Instant should not in any sense be blamed for failing to understand what Sgt. Sanderson failed to explain," he said.

"It must, however, be emphasized that Sgt. Sanderson did not give instructions to leave Mr. Paul in the alley."

Instant has tearfully apologized for leaving Paul in the alley but said he believed the man would soon be up and on his way, perhaps seeking shelter at one of two nearby restaurants.

Woodall told the inquiry Friday that to this day, Sanderson has difficulty accepting that he was wrong in his assessment of Paul.

"This is a case of good intentions bringing tragic consequences," he said.

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