Sask. police watchdog provides new details in case of man who died in Melfort RCMP custody
New details, including a previously unreported physical altercation, are emerging in the death of 44-year-old man who died earlier this week while in Melfort RCMP's custody.
Saskatchewan's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating the death. SIRT is the province's civilian-led watchdog unit that investigates serious incidents involving police.
RCMP issued a news release Wendesday saying the man had taken into custody at about 9:45 a.m. CST on May 6 after reports of a man disturbing the peace at a home on Bemister Avenue West in Melfort, Sask., which is about 150 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
Officers found a 44-year-old man they say had broken the window at the home, RCMP said.
On Friday, a SIRT news release said RCMP found the man acting erratically and took him into custody under the Mental Health Services Act.
Paramedics examined the man and he was taken to hospital for an injured hand.
While the man was being examined, "another disturbance occurred," and RCMP attempted to take him back into custody, SIRT said.
"During the process of taking the man back into custody, a physical altercation occurred," SIRT's release said. That altercation was not mentioned in the initial RCMP release.
The man was back in a cell at the Melfort detachment by 10:45 a.m. CST Tuesday.
At 5:10 p.m. CST, RCMP found the man in medical distress. Officers started CPR and EMS transported the man back to hospital, where he was declared dead.
SIRT is investigating the conduct of police during this incident, including the circumstances surrounding the man's arrest and the cause of his death. SIRT reports are to be released to the public within 90 days of the end of the investigation.
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