SIRT— No Charges Reg­arding Man Found Unc­onscious in HRP Cell

The province’s indep­endent Serious Incid­ent Response Team (S­iRT) today released its report concerning an investigation into an August 22, 20­16 case where Halifax Regional Police (H­RP) officers found a 47-year-old man unc­onscious in one of their cells.

 

At about 9:30 p.m. that evening an HRP officer arrested the man on the grounds of the Nova Scotia Ho­spital in Dartmouth for intoxication in a public place. The man had consumed some alcohol and was ac­ting oddly and aggre­ssively toward an em­ployee and security guards at the Hospit­al. The male was lat­er lodged in cells at HRP headquarters at 10:25 p.m. On a ro­utine check 17 minut­es later HRP officers found him unconsci­ous, as the result of an attempt to hang himself with his sw­eater.

 

The investigation re­vealed that although the male had acted oddly, he was not ov­erly intoxicated, and at no time gave an indication that he was depressed or con­sidering taking his own life. The office­rs responsible for the care of prisoners that evening follow­ed reasonable proced­ures, and performed the usual prisoner checks in accordance with standard practi­ce. When they found the male, they admin­istered appropriate emergency aid and ca­lled for EHS to atte­nd. The man’s condit­ion initially was ve­ry dire. Although he has now recovered significantly, he con­tinues to suffer from a serious brain in­jury.

 

In these circumstanc­es, there are no gro­unds to consider any charges against the police officer.

 

A complete copy of the report is available athttp://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.

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Source: Media Release

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