No charges for cadets after Main Street Project death, investigators say

Thedeath of a 28-year-old man at the Main Street Project earlier this year won't result in charges against the two Winnipeg Police Service cadets who took him there.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates any serious incidents involving police, concluded there was no reason to charge the cadets.

The cadets responded to a call about an intoxicated man causing a disturbance downtown on Feb. 22. The man was arrested outside an apartment block on Carlton Street and taken to the Main Street Project to be held until he sobered up.

When staff checked on him later, he was unconscious. He was taken St. Boniface Hospital and died on Feb. 24.

A pathologist's report concluded the man's death was related to a combination of ethyl alcohol and alprazolam, commonly sold under the brand name Xanax, as well as a subtherapeutic level of zopiclone, used to treat insomnia. The man also had a condition called cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, which contributed to his death, the IIU said in a news release.

Security camera footage showed the man lying on the floor with his neck against the wall and his chin pressed into his chest, and this position could have played a role in the man's death, the IIU said.

Interviews with 13 witnesses and security camera footage indicated no struggle when the man was put into the holding cell, the IIU said.

"IIU civilian director Zane Tessler concluded that an unfortunate series of events led to the man's death, which was completely unrelated and unconnected to anything done or not done by either cadet," the IIU said in the release.

More from CBC Manitoba: