Edmonton police to conduct review after peace officers failed to check on overdosing man who died in cell

Edmonton police will launch an internal review into the death of a man who overdosed on fentanyl in a holding cell and lay motionless for more than five hours while two community peace officers failed to check on him.

Police officers stopped the 37-year-old man on the night of March 15, 2020, for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. He was arrested on outstanding warrants.

He died in his cell the following afternoon.

An investigation report released this week by Alberta's police watchdog determined that two community peace officers on duty failed to complete required wellness checks while the man was in a holding cell.

In a statement, the Edmonton Police Service said now that the investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is complete, EPS will launch an internal review.

"It appears regular policy and procedure weren't followed in this case," EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said in the statement. "This will also form part of the EPS follow-up investigation."

The two peace officers involved in the case are still employed by EPS. They have not been disciplined as the EPS investigation is still pending, Voordenhout said Friday.

In its report, released Wednesday, ASIRT found that the two community peace officers failed to follow EPS policy and "appear to have tried to hide this" from investigators.

The report, written by Matthew Block, ASIRT's assistant executive director, did not name the peace officers.

"[The officers] told EPS detectives that they had conducted certain checks," Block wrote.

"Video from the cell showed that they had not actually done these checks."

Community peace officers don't fall under ASIRT's jurisdiction. Unless otherwise directed by Alberta's director of law enforcement, ASIRT only investigates the actions of police officers.

ASIRT investigated the actions of the two EPS officers involved in the man's arrest, and found no wrongdoing. Those officers had no further dealings with the man after he was placed in cells.

In his report, Block said it's up to EPS to determine what, if any, reprimand is appropriate for the two community peace officers who were tasked with monitoring the man while he was in custody.

Policy dictates regular checks on detainees

EPS policy dictates that detainees must be checked at regular intervals. "Walk-around" checks, where officers visually scan a cell, must be completed every 15 minutes.

Officers must also do "arousal checks" every hour.

The hourly checks, which ensure that a person is conscious and speaking, can be done from outside the cell door. If a detainee fails to respond or wake up, officers must enter the cell to ensure the person is not in medical distress.

"Regular wellness checks should occur so that any significant change in well-being is caught in a timely fashion," Block wrote in his report.

"Police are not medical professionals … as such, they must be alive to the situations where it may be important to have a person in their custody medically assessed."

On the night he was arrested, the man was taken to the Edmonton Police Service detainee management unit in downtown Edmonton, where he was searched and processed.

After he had been assessed by a paramedic who found him to be alert and responsive with no injuries, he was placed in a cell at 11:44 p.m., ASIRT said.

Over the next 12 hours, no peace officer entered the cell.

At 7:10 a.m., another detainee was placed in the cell. The two men spoke and about a minute later, the first man dropped a white object on the bench in the cell and then checked the door.

It appeared the detainees were sharing drugs that had likely been smuggled into the cell, Block wrote.

The 37-year-old man sat down on the bench and eventually laid down on it, facing the wall.

About an hour after consuming the drugs, the man appeared to spasm twice. He did not move again.

The video shows that between 8:30 a.m. and 1:42 p.m., the community peace officers walked by the cell every 10 minutes, looking in briefly as they passed.

The first time a peace officer entered the cell was at 12:14 p.m. The officer brought in food for the detainees.  The 37-year-old man remained motionless on the bench.

At 1:42 p.m., a peace officer entered the cell and "appeared to notice that something was wrong" with the incapacitated man, Block wrote.

The two peace officers and a paramedic gave the man naloxone and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived but the man could not be resuscitated.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity.

'Duty of care'

Community peace officers found in contravention of their duty of care to detainees could be found criminally liable, Block said.

"Where a detainee goes into medical distress while in custody, criminal liability may result where the person in charge failed to exercise reasonable care," Block wrote.

"Police officers and other officials owe a duty of care to detainees under their watch."

In its statement, EPS said a series of new measures now better protect detainees in holdings cells.

The detainee management unit has been relocated to the new northwest campus police station.

Suspects are held alone in cells, staffing levels have increased and a body scanner is now used to search for contraband.