RCMP cleared of any wrongdoing in death of a Quesnel man

The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) concluded that there aren’t reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed an offence in connection with an incident on October 27, 2025.

A Quesnel RCMP member responded to a call at 1:11 that morning of a complaint that a person outside a homeless shelter was in breach of a condition to not be at that address.

The IIO report noted that the man refused to engage with a staff member on night shift at the shelter who offered to call an ambulance, so they called RCMP instead.

The officer was unsuccessful in his attempts to have the person leave the area, and shelter staff ultimately indicated that he could stay where he was, on the sidewalk outside.

The officer stayed with the man until about 1:49 a.m.

The IIO report indicates that the RCMP member tried to help the man up as he could not stand on his own.

He then asked the man if he would like to see Emergency Health Services multiple times but he declined.

The report indicates the officer went back at 2:19 a.m., managing to help him to his feet, and that he appeared to be able to stand consistent with the administration of nasal naloxone.

The officer then went into the shelter and returned with what appeared to be something in a plastic sandwich bag.

The man then goes back down onto his side and appears to be eating something from the bag.

The IIO said between 2:29 a.m. and 3:36 a.m. several civilians interacted with the man and that one offered to call an ambulance but that to was met with a negative response.

The report says the officer returned at 3:36 a.m. and watched a civilian provide the man with a blanket.

The officer then appeared to speak with the man before driving away at 3:53 a.m.

The IIO said in the hours that followed, staff members at the shelter checked on him multiple times up until 6:30 a.m., at which time he was responsive.

Then at 8:29 a.m., paramedics attended after a concerned citizen observed that the man  was not moving or responding.

Despite live-saving efforts by medical personnel, he was subsequently declared deceased.

The investigation involved statements from 8 civilian witnesses, two paramedics and a police officer.

It also used security camera recordings from the shelter, a body camera from the officer, audio recordings of police transmissions, and log notes from the shelter.

An autopsy report noted that the cause of death as “best ascribed to a right-sided pneumonia,” but also mentioned “other significant conditions contributing to death” including mixed drug intoxication; pulmonary emphysema; cachexia (wasting of skeletal muscles); blunt force head injuries consistent with falls; homelessness and hypothermia.

The toxicology report stated that the man’s blood contained methamphetamine at a level at which recreational use overlapped with recorded fatalities.

It went on to say that the level of para-fluorofentanyl measured was also consistent with fatalities.

Weather records for Quesnel indicate that the outdoors temperature on the day of the man’s death dipped to about minus two degrees Celsius by 8:00 a.m.

In conclusion, the IIO report stated that the officer approached the man in a concerned and caring manner, simply trying to assist him in moving to a location where he would not be in breach of his conditions.

It said that when the man appeared unable or unwilling to cooperate, the tolerance displayed by shelter staff made it impractical to arrest him for the breach, so the only remaining course of action would have been to call an ambulance.

The report says the officer would have been aware of the man’s unwillingness to submit to hospitalization, and the evidence is that he was not willing to go in this case as well.

The IIO said that the officer was under a common law duty to safeguard and preserve the man’s life, and that the question that must be answered is whether he was negligent in complying with that duty.

The report concluded that in the circumstances, it cannot be said that the officer, who stayed with the man for a significant time and returned later to check on him further, displayed any degree of negligence.