The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) — an independent police watchdog — is investigating the death of a Laval man following a police intervention shortly after midnight Thursday night.
At 12:40 a.m. Laval police received a call regarding a violent family dispute, according to the BEI.
Two police officers tried to arrest a 50-year-old man who refused to cooperate, according to BEI’s statement.
They said the man stopped breathing as police handcuffed him.
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Police used a defibrillator — unsuccessfully. The man died at the scene.
The BEI took over the investigation. Eight BEI investigators arrived Friday morning to try to determine the cause of the incident.
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Two forensics identification experts from the Sûreté du Québec were also brought in to support the investigation.
The BEI’s mandate is to investigate when a person other than a police officer on duty dies, sustains serious injuries or is shot by a police officer during a police intervention or while in police custody.