B.C.’s civilian police watchdog been deployed after a man died while in police custody in Kamloops.
According to the RCMP, police were called to a business in the 100-block of Victoria Street on Tuesday nights to reports of an intoxicated man.
Police said the man had previously been told to stay away from the business but had returned.
Police located him in a nearby parking lot and arrested the man under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act. He was held overnight in the Kamloops RCMP cells.
Around 6 a.m. Wednesday, the man was found unresponsive in his cell, according to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO). Police called paramedics, who declared the man dead on arrival.
The IIO has sent three investigators, who will collect physical evidence, review video and interview witnesses.
The IIO’s mandate is to investigate any interaction with police that results in serious harm or death to a member of the public.