Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), is investigating the death of a Sherbrooke, Que., man after he had been pepper-sprayed by officers during a police intervention Saturday.
According to the BEI, Sherbrooke police were called at 10:15 a.m. for an altercation between two men in front of a business at an unspecified location.
According to Sherbrooke police, when officers arrived on the scene one of the two men fled and an officer chased and caught up with the 33-year-old suspect.
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The officer then used pepper spray to get the man under control. He lost consciousness and was transported to hospital where his death was pronounced about 11:30 a.m., according to the BEI’s statement.
The police watchdog agency says eight of its officers were dispatched to the scene to investigate the incident with the help of a forensics specialist from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
The BEI, which investigates all deaths and injuries at the hands of police, is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the agency here.
–With files from the Canadian Press