It happened on Oct. 7, 2021, but the identity and the circumstances surrounding the death of a 40-year-old man while in Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) custody have still yet to be released.
At a recent media scrum, MJPS Chief Rick Bourassa was asked if he could provide an update regarding the death. Bourassa said that he could not provide any further details because the death was still under investigation by the Regina Police Service.
“That investigation continues, and we expect it — again working with the Coroner’s Office —and we did ask another police agency, the Regina Police Service, to conduct that death investigation with the Coroner’s Office,” Chief Bourassa said.
Having an outside police agency investigate an in-custody death is a requirement of the Saskatchewan Police Act.
The MJPS has also asked the Ministry of Justice to appoint an independent observer in the case.
The chief explained that because the death happened in custody, there would likely be an inquest.
“I can’t speak for the Coroner’s Office, but it is likely (there will be) an inquest into that and everything will come out. That process can take some time,” he said.
Asked if there was a pending civil suit from the prisoner’s family regarding the death, Chief Bourassa said he had heard nothing about it.
“It hasn’t come to my desk,” he said.
According to an MJPS release issued after the incident, officers had been speaking to the man only minutes before his death. When they returned and found the 40-year-old prisoner in distress, they attempted to save his life using CPR, while EMS was called to the MJPS’s cells.
The man was held in an individual cell.
