Vancouver police investigate death of student after arrest
all credits: Vancouver Sun
27th February 2010
Vancouver police are investigating the death Friday of a 20-year-old University of [British Columbia] student who had been arrested in Whistler for being drunk three days earlier.
Vancouver police said the young man fell down several times while in the custody of Whistler RCMP. He died two days after he was released from custody.
The young man, whose name has not been released, was arrested Tuesday shortly after 5 p.m. for being drunk in a public place. He fell several times while in the Whistler RCMP cells, police said. It is believed he suffered a head injury.
He was released from custody about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. Twenty-three hours later, the man was discovered unconscious in his UBC residence. He was taken to hospital, where he died at 1:30 p.m. Friday, police said.
The investigation is being conducted at the request of the RCMP. Vancouver police Const. Jana McGuinness said Vancouver police were asked Thursday morning to investigate, when the young man was still alive. “It’s tragic,” McGuinness said.
Earlier this month, the RCMP announced a new external investigation policy when the force is involved in a death or serious injury.
The RCMP now asks an external police force to investigate RCMP involved in serious injuries or death. The policy was adopted to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.
The RCMP has come under fire in recent years for investigating itself when members are involved with in-custody deaths.
Renewed calls for independent investigations came after the 2007 death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died at Vancouver’s airport after he was Tasered five times and restrained when RCMP officers decided he was acting irrationally.
The Crown decided no charges were warranted against the four officers involved in the incident. A citizen video of the incident was posted on YouTube and caused international public outrage.
