Alberta’s police watchdog says video footage of a man’s death after 24 hours in police custody shows the man “laid down” in his cell and died. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) began investigating the man’s death after he was found not breathing and without a pulse in an Edmonton Police Service cell on Sept. 17. Edmonton police said the man was arrested at 8 p.m. the night before for allegedly shoplifting and breaking release conditions. ASIRT said he was given a medical screening and placed in a holding cell equipped with biometric monitoring devices while awaiting a bail hearing. The hearing was held the next morning and a judge ordered his release. ASIRT said the man was moved to another cell without biometric monitoring at about 5:20 p.m. Cameras in the cell showed the man moving around until about 6:40 p.m., ASIRT said, at which point he laid down on the floor; at 7:02 p.m., an officer went to check on him and found him unconscious. ASIRT said the man was taken out of the cell and given emergency treatment by the on-site paramedic until an EHS arrived. He died before he could be taken to hospital. No other information about the man’s death was released in order to protect the ongoing investigation, ASIRT said. ASIRT investigates events where serious injury or death may have been caused by police.
