Officers from the Prince George RCMP detachment have been cleared of wrongdoing in the death of a man who overdosed last summer—but evidence in the case was lost because police failed in their legal obligation to immediately notify a B.C. watchdog about what happened. That’s according to a report from the Independent Investigations Office, which reminded the Prince George RCMP that the Police Act requires members to flag any time someone dies or is seriously harmed during an interaction with them. “The legislation does not require suspicion of criminality on the part of any officer, or even evidence of use of force,” wrote Jessica Berglund, the IIO’s chief civilian director, in the report. “Inability of IIO investigators to examine the scene shortly after an incident and to seize, examine and document all relevant evidence compromises the investigation and the reliability of its conclusions.” In this instance, the failure resulted in the loss of a piece of material evidence—an item the deceased had been holding, which police described as an axe but Berglund found was “more likely a table leg.” She noted there was significant evidence still available thanks to the officers’ body-worn cameras. What happened The incident unfolded early on Aug. 24, 2025, when RCMP responded to a 4:54 a.m. 911 call reporting screaming and crashing noises coming from a Prince George home. Officers at the scene heard a man say “I’m dying” from behind a closed bedroom door, which they kicked open to see him lying bloody on the ground. The man then held up the item the RCMP believed to be an axe before shutting the door again with his foot, according to the report. Officers called for an ambulance, but did not force their way back into the room until 5:46 a.m. due to concerns about safety. The man—who had been silent for approximately 26 minutes at that point—was found unresponsive. Berglund noted police culpability under those circumstances “could only flow from inaction causing a delay in the provision of medical attention,” potentially leading to negligence charges. She determined such charges were not warranted in this case. While RCMP may have been able to remove the man for medical attention earlier, Berglund said police are not required “to take risks such as those that would have been involved” entering a dark bedroom with someone who was “armed with an object perceived by the officers to be a weapon.” The chief civilian director found that “taking time to try and reason with” the man and convince him to come out voluntarily was “not an unreasonable alternative approach.”
