London police say an investigation has been launched following the death of an Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre inmate.
Police say a man was transported to hospital from the jail on Sunday and died Monday evening.
“Members of our Major Crime Section are working with the office of the Chief Coroner with respect to the investigation,” police told Global News.
The ministry says an inmate was found in medical distress and transported by paramedics to hospital on Sunday.
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The ministry initially told Global News that the man was pronounced dead in hospital on Tuesday, but later confirmed the death occurred Monday, as police had reported.
According to the ministry, “a number of investigations are underway” and, as a result, it will not be commenting further at this time.
“The Office of the Chief Coroner conducts a death investigation to determine cause and manner of death. The ministry conducts an internal investigation to determine whether all ministry policies and procedures were followed with respect to the care and custody of the deceased. The local police may investigate to determine if the death was the result of any criminal activity,” a spokesperson said in an email.
“Should the coroner determine that the death was anything other than natural causes, an inquest would be called. Should the death result from natural causes, an inquest would be at the discretion of the coroner.”
The death comes less than four months after another inmate death, in November 2020.
In that case, Kevin Egan, a partner at McKenzie Lake Lawyers who represents families of deceased inmates, said he had information that the individual died shortly after admission and was found during nightly medication rounds.
Egan also said at that time that there had been at least 16 deaths in the past 10 years at the facility.
— with files from Global News’ Kelly Wang.
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