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Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a male following the deployment of a Taser by RCMP in Slave Lake.

Slave Lake RCMP were called to a local business, about 250 km north of Edmonton, at 3:40 p.m. on Oct. 12 for complaints of a male acting erratically and damaging property.

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When officers arrived, the suspect resisted arrest and an altercation ensued leading to the deployment of the Conductive Energy Weapon (CEW), RCMP said in a weekend news release.

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The suspect was discovered to be unresponsive once officers had secured him in handcuffs, said the release from Slave Lake RCMP.

Police attempted to revive the male as emergency medical services (EMS) and fire service teams were called in. Upon arrival, the medical team continued to attempt life-saving measures but EMS later declared the suspect deceased.

The director of law enforcement was notified, with the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding police, and RCMP initiated its internal review process, said the news release.

Independent of ASIRT’s investigation, the RCMP’s internal review process is intended to gather a full account of what took place during the case, including officer training, policy, response, and the member’s duty status.

ASIRT was created in 2008 to investigate cases involving Alberta police that result in serious injury or death, as well as allegations of police misconduct.

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