A Man Died In A BC Prison & There's An Investigation Into If It's Linked To 'Police Actions'

A man has been found dead in a B.C. prison and there's currently an investigation ongoing to see if it was related to police actions.

It was only one day before the man's death, on January 17, 2022, that the police were called to a building in Coquitlam, B.C.

The news release from the BC RCMP said that they were called because "a man was causing a disturbance outside the building."

After receiving the report of the disturbance, the police officers from the Coquitlam RCMP arrived at the residential building in the 600-block of Thompson Ave., and located the man. They then arrested him, and he was held in police custody.

Although he was scheduled to appear in court on January 18, 2022, he was tragically found dead in the prison, the day after he was arrested.

It was about 8:37 a.m. yesterday morning when prisoner checks were underway, that they found the man unresponsive.

"Despite life-saving efforts by police, fire and EHS, the man could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead," the police said.

The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia is now investigating the incident, "to determine whether police actions are linked to the man’s death," the police added.

There was no information in the news release as to what could have caused the man's death.

The IIO BC is completing the investigation independently, and so further information concerning the incident will not be released by the police.

Further updates will be reported at the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia website.