The cause of death of a man who died in police custody this weekend is still unknown, officials said Sunday. Halifax Regional Police and RCMP are investigating.
Saturday's autopsy did not pin-point a cause of death and further testing is needed, including toxicology, police said.
The 27-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was staying at a halfway house in Halifax's south end.
Police were called by staff who believed the deceased and another inmate, 20, were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, violating their parole. Police said preliminary information from the investigation shows that the two men had taken illegal drugs.
"Upon arrival, one of those inmates in question actually went to the washroom and jumped out a window. He was arrested after a short foot pursuit," Theresa Rath of the Halifax Regional Police told CTV Atlantic.
The man was taken to hospital for treatment of minor cuts and scrapes, but went into cardiac arrest and died.
"Very limited force was used to make the arrest and no intermediate weapons were used which means that we did not use a Taser or pepper spray and we did not use the baton," said Rath.
Dawn Sloan, the councilor for the area, said she will be looking into the incident on Monday. She has concerns about how the two men were able to get a hold of illegal drugs.
The other man is in custody in Burnside. The name of the deceased is expected to be released Monday.
With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
