Police oversight agency to investigate after person in mental distress injured
RCMP have asked a police oversight agency to review officers' conduct after a person in mental distress was injured and taken into custody.
In a news release, the RCMP said they're asked the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team to review what happened on the morning of Feb. 8.
The release said officers responded to a report of "an individual in mental distress," at a "healthcare facility in the Waterville area." The release does not specify the facility nor the gender and age of the person.
There are no clinics in the area, which is about 100 kilometres southwest of Fredericton, near the Maine border. The only hospital in the area is the Upper River Valley Hospital operated by Horizon Health Network. The network has not yet answered CBC's request for information.
The RCMP release said when officers arrived, the person "became aggressive with police and an altercation ensued."
The person then "attempted to flee from police and sustained self-inflicted injuries as a result," the release said. It said the person was treated for the injuries then taken into custody.
The release did not say what kind of injuries the person sustained, how serious they were, and why the person was taken into custody.
"The RCMP is committed to accountability and transparency to the communities we serve," Cpl. Hans Ouellette is quoted as saying in the news release.
"Due to the seriousness of this incident, we have requested SIRT review our actions to ensure we did everything we could in our response."
RCMP did not immediately respond to CBC's request for additional information.
Five pending cases
This is the second case that's been referred to SIRT this year, and the fifth pending case since July 2022.
New Brunswick does not have its own independent oversight agency to review police actions. The provincial government recently reached an official agreement with Nova Scotia to expand its Serious Incident Response Team to New Brunswick, with its own investigators and resources.
SIRT usually investigates police conduct in incidents involving including death, serious injury, sexual assault, domestic violence and "other matters of significant public interest."
This five pending cases include one where a man died after being arrested. Another investigation started after a person in mental distress and an officer were injured during an altercation.
One involves an officer who was injured while restraining a man being arrested under the Intoxicated Person Detention Act, while investigators in another case are looking into what happened after a man was found dead as police were executing a search warrant.
