The Special Investigations Unit says a London Police Service officer did not commit a criminal offence in connection with a drug overdose suffered by a man in custody.
On August 20, 2023, officers arrested the man in relation to a reported break and enter call.
According to the SIU report, the man was taken to the police station and told the officers he had taken fentanyl earlier in the day. Fentanyl was also found during a search of his backpack. The man was put into a cell and checked every 20 minutes. About 90 minutes later, he was found unresponsive.
Emergency care was provided until paramedics arrived, and he was taken to hospital. The man was admitted to hospital for treatment of a drug overdose.
Director Joseph Martino said while it was arguable that the man ought to have been sent directly to hospital or subjected to more frequent monitoring while in cells given what the officer knew of his fentanyl use, the man appeared coherent and in control of his faculties at the time he was booked.
On this record, Martino found the evidence fell short of any suggestion that the officer transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law.
