The Nanaimo RCMP is not at fault for injuries a man suffered while in custody late last year, B.C.’s police watchdog has concluded.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. initiated an investigation after a man sustained injuries while detained at the cells at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment in December. The IIO related its findings Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Initially arrested without incident at a Nanaimo business on Dec. 8 and jailed at the Prideaux Street police station, the man, still in custody on Dec. 10, “experienced a medical event which caused him to fall and sustain a serious injury,” a press release stated. The patient was subsequently transported to hospital.
“Video footage … from the arrest scene and the entirety of the man’s time in cells shows that no force was used against the man at any time, and the man was the only occupant of his cell during his time in custody,” stated the IIO release. “Further, there was no prior indication of the medical event leading to his injury before it occurred.”
The IIO said there was nothing connecting police to the injury, nor was there anything to suggest force had been used.
The investigation is closed.
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