A watchdog organization has ruled that Ridge Meadows RCMP officers were not at fault during the events of a May 11 arrest that led to a detainee overdosing in his cell.
The situation started when Ridge Meadows RCMP arrested a man for reportedly taking off his clothes and spraying parked cars with bear spray on the evening of May 11, 2022.
In addition to assault with a weapon, the arresting officer also brought the male in for breach of probation and mischief.
After conducting a search of the subject’s clothing and backpack, a small amount of drugs were confiscated, and the individual was placed alone in a cell.
At some point in the night, he managed to consume more illegal drugs, leading to an overdose that was discovered the next morning when the officer went in to fingerprint the suspect.
Paramedics were called to the police station and transported the male to the local hospital, where he was eventually discharged after making a full recovery.
As a result of this incident, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of B.C. began an investigation into the matter.
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The final report was released on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and revealed that the officers followed what was deemed reasonable protocol and were not at fault for the arrested male overdosing in his cell.
Ronald MacDonald, chief civilian director of the IIO, explained that the arresting officer seized 1.5 grams of methamphetamine and several small packages of benzodiazepine from the subject, which was all the individual appeared to have on their person.
“Subject officer (SO) said he questioned the affected person (AP) as to whether he was in possession of any more drugs, for example, hidden in a body cavity, and AP categorically denied it,” said MacDonald’s report.
“Witness officer two (WO2) recalled AP saying that he ‘doesn’t do that shit’. Both WO2 and SO concluded that there were insufficient grounds to conduct a strip search, and AP was lodged in a cell.”
However, once he was placed in the cell, the report states that the suspect could be seen on video surveillance reaching down the back of his pants and putting something in his pocket.
The man then faced the rear wall of the cell, with his back turned to the camera, and remained that way throughout the night.
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“During the night, routine checks were conducted, and AP was noted as apparently asleep facing the wall on the bench, breathing normally and moving occasionally,” said MacDonald.
At 5:13 a.m. the next morning, the officer reportedly entered the cell in order to fingerprint the man, but found him unresponsive with a small amount of vomit on him.
The man was still breathing and had a strong pulse, so officers administered Naloxone, but noticed no improvement in the suspect’s state.
Several more packets of what appeared to be benzodiazepine were found in the man’s pockets and had been sealed in cellophane wrapping.
Paramedics worked on the unconscious man for 20 minutes before transporting him to the intensive care unit in serious but stable condition.
After receiving some tests, the man’s blood was found to contain methadone, fentanyl, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and cannabinoids. And on June 30, he was discharged from the hospital.
“The video evidence here establishes that AP very likely smuggled the drugs that almost killed him into the cell secreted in a body cavity,” said the report. “There was no negligence in SO’s failure to discover them during a search of AP’s clothing.”
“There was no reason to suspect that at some point he began to suffer the effects of an overdose.”
“The bottom line is that AP was the direct cause of the harm he suffered, and no blame can reasonably be placed on SO or any other officer or guard.”
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