Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team has been instructed to investigate a recent death that occurred at the Melfort RCMP Detachment.

On Tuesday at 9:48 a.m., RCMP members at that detachment responded to a disturbance call at a residence in Melfort, where they found a 44-year-old man who was acting erratically. He had also sustained a hand injury.

He was taken into custody under The Mental Health Services Act and transported to the Melfort RCMP Detachment. He was put in a cell at 10:14 a.m.

Four minutes later, he was assessed by EMS and then taken to hospital. While being examined, another disturbance occurred, and he was taken back into custody by the accompanying RCMP member.

As he was being taken back, a physical altercation occurred. The man was then handcuffed and placed back in a cell by 10:44 a.m.

Later that day, at 5:10 p.m., he was observed to have gone into medical distress. First aid measures commenced, and EMS were called. He was taken to hospital at 5:36 p.m., but despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead.

SIRT was since deployed to Melfort to begin its investigation to examine the conduct of police during this incident, including the circumstances surrounding the man’s arrest and the cause of his death. A final report will be issued to the public within 90 days of the investigation ending.