Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a man inside a CPS holding cell following his arrest at a southeast fast-food restaurant early Friday.
Officers responding to multiple calls about a disturbance at the 130 Avenue business around 6:40 a.m. found a man acting erratically. Once identified, the suspect was found to have outstanding warrants and was transported to the Spyhill Services Centre where he later went into medical distress and died, according to a Calgary police release.
The man had been charged with outstanding warrants, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance after a small amount of drugs were seized during a search at the centre.
The police release states the suspect was then cleared by a medic, as is standard procedure, before he was placed in a holding cell.
“At approximately 4:35 p.m., the man went into medical distress and officers immediately entered the cell. Despite significant lifesaving efforts, the man was pronounced deceased approximately 45 minutes later,” it reads.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now investigating what led up to the man’s death.
“The Service has extensive systems and protocols already in place to ensure the care of arrestees, including medical clearance checks for every arrestee prior to being admitted into a cell, searches of individuals before being taken into custody, CCTV systems to monitor people in custody and regular cell checks,” the CPS release states.