The chief of Nova Scotia’s police oversight agency has expressed significant worries regarding the response of the provincial healthcare system in the incident involving a 25-year-old man from Halifax who was experiencing psychosis and died during a police intervention earlier this year.
Erin Nauss, the head of the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), indicated on Friday that a more thorough fatality inquiry may be necessary to investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s death on February 22 at his Halifax residence.
During an interview, Nauss highlighted several troubling aspects that emerged during the investigation conducted by her team.
SIRT’s report, released on Friday, absolved the officers involved of criminal misconduct, determining that the use of force, including a Taser, was justified given the man’s aggressive behavior. The report mentioned that the police had been called to handle the man on four occasions within three days, with a previous attempt to transport him to the hospital for psychosis treatment.
However, a delay of over four hours occurred before the man received medical attention at the hospital, where he was ultimately not assessed promptly for his mental health crisis. Subsequently, a series of events unfolded leading to the man leaving the hospital and returning home, prompting further police involvement.
The report also raised concerns about the response time of Emergency Health Services (EHS), Nova Scotia’s paramedic service, noting a delay in their arrival despite repeated requests for assistance from the police officers on the scene.
Moreover, the report shed light on the challenges faced by the mental health mobile crisis team due to staffing shortages, which hindered their ability to provide timely support to individuals in mental health crises.
The medical examiner’s findings attributed the man’s death to complications arising from a physical altercation during an acute psychotic episode, with no direct link to the use of the Taser by the police.
While SIRT determined that the officers’ use of force was reasonable, criticisms were voiced by the victim’s brother present at the scene, highlighting the officers’ conduct as aggressive and derogatory.
Despite requests for interviews, various government officials declined but extended condolences to the deceased’s family. They emphasized the importance of reviewing the report’s findings to enhance emergency response protocols and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
