Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) have cleared Halifax Regional Police (HRP) of any wrongdoing after a man was found unconscious in one of the department’s cells last summer.
READ MORE: SiRT investigating after man found unconscious in Halifax jail cell
According to a report released Thursday by SiRT, police arrested a 47-year-old man around 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2016. The man was taken into custody on the grounds of the Nova Scotia Hospital for being intoxicated in a public place after he was observed acting oddly and aggressively towards an employee and security guards at the hospital.
The man was taken to HRP headquarters and placed in a cell at 10:25 p.m. The report says a routine check by officers found the man unconscious 17 minutes later, after he attempted to hang himself with his sweater.
SiRT says their investigation revealed that while the man was acting oddly, he was not overly intoxicated and gave no indication he was depressed or considering taking his own life.
As as result, SiRT says that the officers responsible for the care of the man followed reasonable procedures and performed the usual prisoner checks in accordance with their standard practice and that there are no grounds to consider any charges against police.
The report says that the man’s condition “initially was very dire” and although he has now recovered significantly, he continues to suffer from a serious brain injury.
The Serious Incident Response Team is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia.
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