Thunder Bay police did nothing wrong in man’s fatal cocaine overdose

A suspect who suddenly died in custody in Thunder Bay had been checked just minutes before he went into distress.

And officials at the jail checked on him three minutes after he became unconscious, Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit said in clearing Thunder Bay Police of wrongdoing.

The man had been arrested May 27, 2024, turning himself in after he had fled hospital a few days earlier. He was being held under the Mental Health Act.

He admitted that he had gone on a cocaine bender after fleeing the hospital and said he couldn’t remember what had happened in the days before he was taken back into custody at the hospital.

He arrived around 4 p.m.

“The complainant removed his clothing, which was searched by the officers, and donned a hospital gown,” the SIU investigation said.

Taken to the jail cell

“Asked if he had anything in his underwear, the complainant answered in the negative. He was medically assessed and subsequently discharged into the care of the police. As there was another warrant in effect authorizing his arrest with respect to several criminal offences, the complainant was again taken into custody and transported to the police station.”

He denied that he had any drugs in his system and told police that he had high blood pressure but had not taken his medication for several days.

He was placed in a jail cell and was checked on by jail staff every 30 minutes.

Jail staff checked on him around 4:10 a.m. on May 28 and he was fine. But at 4:16 a.m., his body began to tremble.

“He kicked his legs in the air and slid onto his right side, laying curled on the floor between the wall and cell bench,” the SIU said.

“He eventually became still, his chest still rising and falling, in a supine position.”

Jail staff noticed something was wrong at 4:19 a.m. An ambulance was called and staff gave him CPR and doses of naloxone while they waited for paramedics.

The paramedics arrived at 4:53 a.m. and the man was taken to hospital. He was kept on life support until May 31, 2024, when he officially passed away.

Cocaine toxicity

“The pathologist at autopsy was of the view that the complainant’s death was attributable to cocaine toxicity,” the SIU said.

“The pathologist also concluded that cardiomegaly with left ventricular hypertrophy contributed to the death.”

SIU director Joseph Martino concluded that officials had taken all reasonable steps and had shown “due regard for his health and well-being.”

“By the time the complainant was placed in a cell, he had been searched three times – at his family member’s place, at the hospital, and at the police station,” Martino said.

“None of those searches revealed the presence of drugs on his person that he might have accessed during his time in cells. Nor is it apparent on the video footage that the complainant did, in fact, retrieve drugs from his person and ingest them while in police custody.”

The evidence showed jail staff checked on him well before the next scheduled jail cell check and acted quickly to get him help.

“The file is closed,” he said.

Read the full report here.