Watchdog finds no grounds for offence in relation to man's death in Quesnel, B.C.

Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has found no reasonable grounds to believe an officer may have committed an offence in relation to the death of a man outside a homeless shelter in Quesnel last October.

The decision signed by Jessica Berglund, chief civilian director of the agency, says a Quesnel RCMP officer had responded to an early morning call about a man outside the shelter, where he’d previously been ordered not to go.

It says the officer tried unsuccessfully to get the man to leave the area, and staff at the shelter ultimately allowed him to remain on the sidewalk outside.

The decision issued Tuesday says the officer and shelter staff checked on the man several times over the next few hours, with the officer apparently bringing him food and a blanket, but he was found unresponsive later that morning on Oct. 27.

An ambulance was called, but the man was subsequently pronounced dead.

Berglund’s decision says the officer was in a “difficult position,” as the tolerance of shelter staff made it “impractical” to arrest the man for breaching his conditions, and evidence showed he was unwilling to be transported by ambulance.

“It cannot be said that the (officer), who stayed with the (man) for a significant time and returned later to check on him further, displayed any degree of negligence.”

The decision says the watchdog’s investigation reviewed evidence, including the man’s autopsy report, video from the officer’s body-worn camera, notes and security footage from the shelter, historical weather data, and statements from eight civilian witnesses, two paramedics and one witness officer.

A witness officer told the watchdog that he had arrested the man for mischief at the shelter about two weeks earlier, the decision says.

It notes the man would “often decline” offers for an ambulance call, which he did more than once in the hours before he died.

Video footage shows the officer who was subject to the investigation appeared to administer the man nasal naloxone at about 2:19 a.m. and a few minutes later gave him something to eat, later returning with a blanket, the decision says.

The recordings do not show any use of force by the officer “other than what appear to be attempts to help the (man) get up and remain standing, and possible administration of naloxone,” it says.

The man was responsive when shelter staff checked on him at 6:30 a.m., but two hours later, paramedics responded to a 911 call from a concerned citizen who saw the man wasn’t moving or responding, the decision says.

The man was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The man’s medical records indicated a history of repeated hospitalizations, “characterized by his non-co-operation and habitual self-discharge against medical advice,” the decision says.

It says the man’s autopsy report indicated his cause of death was “best ascribed” to pneumonia, but mentioned other significant contributing factors, including hypothermia, mixed drug intoxication, pulmonary emphysema, and blunt force head injuries consistent with falls.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2026.

The Canadian Press