B.C.’s civilian-led police watchdog is investigating after a man went into medical distress during a police encounter at a Burnaby shopping plaza.
Officers were called to the Starbucks at Hastings Street and Kensington on Friday around 6 a.m.
An “overdosing” man was reportedly in a “physical altercation” with an employee, the RCMP said, and paramedics had called them for assistance.
“When the man was being apprehended he began to show signs of medical distress,” Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said in a news release. “He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
According to the Independent Investigations Office, the man went into medical distress after officers arrived and “an interaction occurred.”
The watchdog will investigate whether police action or inaction contributed to his death.