Report on death of Halifax man in police cells 'could be some time'

It could be months before the cause of death of a man found unresponsive in Halifax police cells early Thursday morning is released.

An autopsy was performed on the 41-year-old Spryfield man Thursday but the province's Serious Incident Response Team won't have a report from the medical examiner's officer "for some time," SIRT director Ron MacDonald said Friday.

Meanwhile, neitherSIRTnor Halifax Regional Police are releasing the man's name.

MacDonaldsaid it is a matter of policy thatSIRTdoes not publicly identify people involved in its investigations.

A Halifax police spokeswoman also said Friday that the department will not identify the deceased.

The man was found unresponsive in cells at about 1:45 a.m., police said. EHS were called but their efforts to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful.

He had been arrested for public intoxication outside the IWK hospital at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was placed in cells at 11 p.m., police said.