Halifax police response in balcony death justified, report concludes

CTV Atlantic: Halifax police cleared in fatal fall Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team has cleared the police of any wrongdoing after a man fell from a 10-storey apartment balcony.

HALIFAX -- A report concludes Halifax police were justified in breaking into a 10th-floor apartment to respond to a man who later fell off a balcony and died.

Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team was called in to investigate the death of the 27-year-old man.

The man was away from a psychiatric facility without leave when he barricaded himself inside his apartment on Feb. 3.

The Serious Incident Response Team says Halifax police responded and officers tried to negotiate with him, telling him they were concerned for his safety.

The team's report says that after officers did not hear any response, they forced their way inside and found the man sitting on the outside edge of the balcony.

The report says one officer tried to convince the man to come back inside but the man eventually fell.

The report says the police response was justified out of concern for the man's safety.