Mountie used reasonable force when subduing man at special-care home: report

Nova Scotia’s independent police watchdog says an RCMP officer was justified when he struggled to handcuff an unco-operative resident of a special-care home who later died.

The Serious Incident Response Team issued a statement Thursday saying that on Dec. 16 the officer was sent to the Valley View Villa in Riverton, where an employee had complained about a 49-year-old male resident.

The agency says the officer attempted to arrest the man under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act after he became unco-operative with staff and uttered threats.

After a “significant struggle,” the man was being handcuffed on the floor when he lost consciousness and died a short time later.

The Medical Examiner’s office concluded the man died from existing physical ailments combined with stress of the struggle.

The Serious Incident Response Team says the man’s medical condition led to his death, the officer’s use of force was reasonable and there are no grounds to lay charges.