A Cape Breton Regional Police officer did not commit a criminal offence during an arrest of an adult male in August, according to the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT). SiRT says two officers spotted a truck matching the description of a vehicle connected to a robbery and possible missing person earlier in the day of Aug. 27. The truck turned onto a trail beside train tracks off Hartigan Drive, and the officers approached the vehicle telling the three occupants to raise their hands, to which two occupants complied. According to a news release on Tuesday, one of the adult males seated in the back behind the driver did not comply and repeatedly reached towards the side of the door. After refusing to comply with the officer, SiRT says the officer deployed a Taser which had limited effect. The male continued to resist, leading to the same officer deploying pepper spray. The man was then removed from the vehicle and handcuffed. Officers later seized a large black kitchen knife from the door where the male had been sitting, says SiRT. EHS was called due to the Taser deployment and to provide decontamination from the pepper spray. SiRT says the man was initially conscious, thrashing and resisting police, but when EHS arrived he quickly went into medical distress showing seizure-like symptoms. EHS then began CPR and brought the man to hospital in critical condition where it was determined he had gone into cardiac arrest. The man was later discharged from hospital. “The force used was reasonable given the threat posed by the AP (suspect) and his apparent attempts to reach what was later determined to be a knife. In this rapidly evolving situation, the SO (subject officer) had no reasonable alternative to using these intervention tools,” read the summary of the investigation released by SiRT. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
