Peace officers failed to check on man who died in EPS custody and lied about it: ASIRT

A pair of community peace officers violated Edmonton Police Service policy and then later lied to detectives after a man died in custody, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) revealed Wednesday.

A pair of community peace officers violated Edmonton Police Service policy and then later lied to detectives after a man died in custody, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) revealed Wednesday.

The man, who has not been publicly named, was arrested by EPS officers for outstanding warrants at 10:50 p.m. on March 15, 2020.

He was taken to the city's Detainee Management Unit (DMU), located at EPS Northwest Campus, where he was assessed by paramedics before being placed in a cell. The next morning another person was placed in the cell.

"The video appears to show (both men) consuming drugs while in the cell," the ASIRT report says.

The man then laid down on a bench.

"At 8:13 a.m., (he) appeared to spasm twice. He moved slightly in the next two minutes, but no further movement was noticeable on the cell video after 8:15 a.m.," the report states.

Community peace officers (CPOs) entered the cell twice after that point but they didn't notice anything was wrong until paramedics were called and the man was given naloxone and CPR at 1:42 p.m.