By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

ASIRT to investigate man’s death following contact with Lethbridge Police

Oct 22, 2018 | 4:22 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 48-year-old man following an encounter with an officer from the Lethbridge Police Service on the evening of Oct. 3.

LPS officers responded to a report of a disturbance at an alley off Stafford Drive South, between 3 Avenue S. and 4 Avenue S at approximately 5:20 p.m. on that day.

When they arrived, the officers dealt with two men who were identified as having been involved in the disturbance.

A 41-year-old man was placed under arrest for breaching conditions of release, including a no-contact provision with the other man but as officers were placing the arrested man into a police vehicle, the second man became involved and a confrontation occurred.

An officer pushed the 48-year-old man away with one or both hands to his chest, causing the man to stumble backwards and fall straight back, hitting his head on the pavement.

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Following the fall, the man appeared to be in an altered state, although his eyes were open, and he appeared to attempt speaking.

Emergency Medical Services were called to assess and assist the man. When EMS arrived, the man’s condition deteriorated as he went into medical distress and was unresponsive.

He was transported and admitted to hospital.

Lethbridge Police made a notification to the Director of Law Enforcement, pursuant to the provisions of the Police Act, once they knew about the severity of the man’s medical condition, and on Oct. 4, ASIRT was directed to investigate.

Over the course of the next few days, the man’s condition didn’t improve and in the early hours of Monday, Oct. 8, the man died in hospital.

An autopsy was performed the following day, but the cause of death hasn’t been determined yet.

ASIRT’s investigation will focus on the police contact with the 48-year-old man to determine if police conduct may have caused his death, and, if so, whether that conduct was lawful.

LPS maintains responsibility for the investigation into the conduct of the 41-year-old man arrested at the scene.

No further comments will be provided by ASIRT until the matter is concluded due to the investigation being underway.