Man dies in hospital after police incident

A man arrested by Prince George RCMP on April 12 has died in hospital.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is investigating the incident, which began at about 4:30 a.m. on April 12, when officers responded to the alarm at a downtown sporting goods store, in the 1400 block of Third Avenue.

According to an IIO release, it took several hours of negotiations with a man before he was apprehended. From there, he was medically cleared at the hospital and then taken to the cells at the local detachment.

Hours later, while still in cells, the man went into medical distress and was taken back to the hospital “suffering from serious injury,” the release stated. The IIO was notified Monday that the man had died.

The IIO is B.C.’s independent civilian oversight agency of the police across the province. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.

In its release, the IIO stated it “will investigate to determine what role, if any, the officers’ actions or inaction may have played into the serious harm of the male.”