B.C.’s police watchdog investigating following man’s death after release from custody in Duncan

B.C.’s police watchdog is investigating following a man’s death not long after he was released from custody in Duncan.

According to police, on July 15 at approximately 4:30 p.m., an officer from the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP found an intoxicated man near Alexander Street in Duncan B.C. The man was arrested for being intoxicated in a public place.

He was subsequently booked in the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP cells, police said.

The man was released from RCMP custody on July 16 at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Then at approximately 3:30 p.m. that same day, North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP were called to assist Emergency Health Services paramedics with a man found dead in a unit at Warmland House on Lewis Street in Duncan.

Police said an investigation determined that the man was the same person who was in North Cowichan Duncan RCMP custody earlier the same day.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC confirmed they are investigating the incident.

The IIO will investigate to determine what role, if any, the officers’ actions or inaction may have played in the death of the man.

The BC Coroners Service is also conducting an independent investigation to determine how, where, when and by what means he came to his death.

The IIO is asking that any person who saw or spoke to the man on July 16 to contact the IIO Witness Line toll free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

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