At approximately 11 a.m., on December 16, 2014 a member of the RCMP in Stellarton responded to an assault complaint committed by a 49-year-old male resident of the Valley View Villa, against an employee of the Villa. The Officer decided not to arrest the man for assault due to his mental illness. However, the male soon again became very uncooperative with staff as they attempted to have him transported to hospital. He was physically uncooperative and uttered threats to several staff persons.
At that point the Officer stepped in and arrested man under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act. There was a significant struggle between the man and the Officer. At one point, as the male was on the floor after being handcuffed, he became unconscious. He passed away a short time later.
The Medical Examiner’s office found that the man’s death arose from his physical ailments combined with stress of the struggle with Officer 1. This led to a heart arrhythmia and his death.
In these circumstances the Officer was justified in attempting to take the man into custody, and the force he used was reasonable. Unfortunately the man’s medical condition led to his death. There are no grounds to consider any charges against the Officer.
A complete copy of the report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.
SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Ron MacDonald, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.
Source: Media Release