The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is launching an investigation into a man’s death while in RCMP custody.

On Thursday, March 21, police at the Wood Buffalo detachment responded to a complaint of a man committing an indecent act and behaving erratically at a local drop-in center.

The person was identified and taken into custody by the police. He was then placed in a cell at the Wood Buffalo Detachment.

Early Friday morning the man was found unresponsive in his cell. Life-saving measures were started, and EMS was dispatched but were unable to revive the individual.

Alberta legislation requires an investigation any time a person dies while in police custody. In addition to the ASIRT investigation, RCMP are launching their own internal review of the matter.