While a fatality inquiry may still be ordered following the death of man while in police custody in St. Paul, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation found no reasonable grounds to believe RCMP officers did anything wrong.
The investigation was ordered after a man died of a drug overdose while in the custody of St. Paul RCMP on Jan. 10, 2022.
No names for either the deceased or the officers involved are included in the report that was released on Dec. 19, 2024.
According to ASIRT’s investigation, three people were found in the community “trying doorhandles” in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, 2022.
RCMP arrested the man on outstanding warrants and found nothing of concern in a pat-down search. The man was cooperative, so the officer did not handcuff him. A secondary search at the detachment also found nothing.
Based on the audio from the in-car video recording of the arrest, the ASIRT report concluded the man retrieved something from his pocket and put it down his pants prior to being taken to the detachment.
“One might question why [the man] was not strip searched by the officers before being placed in his cell. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that certain grounds must exist before a strip search can be conducted. It does not appear from the investigation that any officers had the necessary grounds that would have supported a strip search,” reads the report.
After being put in cells at the detachment, the man spent the day pacing, sitting, and laying on a mat and was given dinner at about 6 p.m.
He was found dead three hours later.
Toxicology testing showed significant quantities of carfentanil, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, which were ruled to be the cause of death.
A review of the cells video showed the deceased doing something on the ground in the area where drug paraphernalia was found. The last time he was seen moving on the video was at approximately 7 p.m.
The civilian cell guard who was on duty that evening made visual checks of the cell every 15 minutes but “did not observe anything of concern.” The man was found non-responsive at 9 p.m. when the guard entered to provide access to counsel.
EMS were called and medical care was immediately provided, but he was pronounced dead.
“Police officers and other officials generally owe a duty of care to detainees under their watch. Where a detainee goes into medical distress while in custody, criminal liability may result where the person in charge failed to exercise reasonable care,” reads the report.
“While untimely and tragic, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any officers committed an offence(s),” concludes the report.
