Police watchdog probes 45 year old man’s jail cell death in northern Quebec

Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating after a 45-year-old man died in a jail cell in the province’s north.

Preliminary information provided in a news release suggests the death occurred Friday afternoon in Inukjuak, after the man was arrested by the Kativik Regional Police Force.

The watchdog, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), says police were called to respond to a man who was heavily intoxicated.

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The man was arrested and placed in a jail cell just after 2:45 p.m., but the watchdog says he was found lifeless and without a pulse almost two hours later.

He was taken to hospital and later declared dead.

The BEI has asked four investigators to probe the circumstances surrounding the death with the help of Quebec provincial police.

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