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Police watchdog investigates after man dies during Coquitlam highway arrest

The man had been running in traffic and trying to get into a car
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The police watchdog is investigating after a man died during an arrest in Coquitlam on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. (Shane MacKichan)

The police watchdog is investigating after a man died during an arrest in Coquitlam Sunday.

Coquitlam RCMP said they went to a home as part of a follow-up investigation at 4:30 p.m. Police said that at the time, they asked about a man who had several warrants out for his arrest.

Later on Sunday, Coquitlam traffic police saw the man they were looking for run out of a wooded area into traffic on the Mary Hill Bypass at 5:30 p.m. The man was almost hit by a car and the officer turned on his emergency lights and tried to catch the man. The officer said he saw the man try to open doors of cars on the road.

The man managed to get inside the back seat of a car and was arrested.

Police said the man became “unresponsive” and the officer called emergency health services, while providing medical help.

The man died at the scene.

The Independent Investigations Office will investigate if the police’s actions are linked to the man’s death.

ALSO READ: No negligence in RCMP actions in B.C. teen’s overdose death: watchdog


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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