SiRT Concludes Investigation into Death

The Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has found no reasonable grounds to believe members of the Digby RCMP committed a criminal offence in relation to the death of a male who died in hospital after going into medical distress in police cells.

On the afternoon of February 10, 2025, RCMP officers responded to a call of an intoxicated person behind the mall in Digby, Nova Scotia. An adult male was found laying in the snow and was arrested for public intoxication. The following morning while in cells the male hit his head, became unresponsive and went into medical distress. Emergency Health Services was called and paramedics provided care to the male before transporting him to hospital, where he was pronounced deceased later that morning.

SiRT was contacted by the RCMP on February 11 and started their investigation immediately. An autopsy determined the male died of natural causes, including an upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by chronic ethanol use.

The SiRT Director’s summary report is available here: Recent Publications | SiRT .

SiRT is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest to be investigated that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Investigations are under the direction and control of an independent civilian director, who has the sole authority to determine if charges should be laid at the conclusion of an investigation.

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