The Grande Prairie RCMP detachment (EverythingGP file photo

By Shaun Penner

Found unresponsive in holding cell

ASIRT investigating in-custody death at Grande Prairie RCMP detachment

Feb 9, 2021 | 1:50 PM

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been called in to investigate the death of a 26-year-old man that occurred while he was in custody at the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment Monday morning.

The RCMP say they brought the man into custody on Sunday afternoon, when they responded to a 911 call to help with a man who was requiring EMS assistance. Police described the man as “extremely erratic” and was noted to be high on drugs at the time of arrival to the home in the city.

Police allege the man refused medical transport and also refused an offer from the RCMP to be taken to an alternate location for shelter.

The man was arrested at the home for mischief, and was taken to the detachment holding cells “until he was to recover sufficient capacity that he could be safely released”.

Police say they provided wellness checks during the man’s stay. However, he was found unresponsive during a check at around 7:45 a.m. Monday. EMS were called to the cell, but the man was pronounced dead at 7:53 a.m. on Feb. 8.

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RCMP say they then immediately informed the Director of Law Enforcement, and ASIRT has now taken carriage of the investigation into the actions of police.

“The RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable,” says Corporal Deanna Fontaine of the Western Alberta District RCMP, in a release.

Both the RCMP’s internal review processes, as well as ASIRT, will gather a “full account of what took place in the cell block”. RCMP training, policy, response, and employees’ actions will be subject to review, adds Fontaine.

ASIRT says its investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, including the circumstances surrounding the man’s arrest and his time in custody.

ASIRT, an independent agency with civilian investigators and seconded police investigators, investigates events where serious injury or death may have been caused by police and serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.