A 37-year-old man died while in Edmonton police custody and Alberta’s police watchdog has been directed to investigate the circumstances around the death.
At around 10:55 p.m. Sunday night, officers arrested the man on an outstanding warrant and he was taken into custody at the Edmonton Police Service detainee management unit.
On Monday afternoon, police found the man unresponsive in his cell.
An on-duty paramedic performed emergency medical care — including CPR and administering naloxone — and 911 was called, but the man was pronounced dead shortly after 2:20 p.m.
An autopsy is being performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team was directed to investigate on Monday, a news release from the agency said.
As the investigation is now underway, ASIRT said no further information would be released until it was over.
ASIRT is directed to investigate any time a person is injured or dies while in police custody.