On June 14, a man was arrested by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and placed in jail, and he was pronounced dead less than 24 hours later.
Now, the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO) is investigating the man’s death, as he died while in VPD custody.
VPD provided some preliminary information to the IIO, including the fact that the man was arrested at around 3 p.m. on June 14 and lodged in a cell at the Vancouver jail.
The next day, at around 8 a.m., staff at the jail found him unresponsive.
Medical personnel attempted to provide aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
There are two factors that the IIO is considering in this investigation, including whether or not there was an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, and if there was a connection between the death and an officer’s action or inaction.
“If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred. At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred,” the IIO adds.
The VPD shared a release earlier this morning, letting the public know that it had notified the IIO about the incident. Echoing what the IIO said, the staff at the jail discovered the prisoner unconscious.
The IIO was notified about a separate VPD-related incident last week, when someone was shot dead by Vancouver police in a hostage situation.