Iqaluit RCMP found a 54-year-old man unresponsive in a local detachment cell on Wednesday morning. He was pronounced dead a short time later. (CBC)RCMP in Iqaluit are investigating the death Wednesday of a man in their custody.
The 54-year-old man was arrested for mischief and had been in a cell at the local detachment for about seven hours when officers found him unresponsive shortly before 8 a.m.
Cpl. Jimmy Akavak told CBC News the man was taken to Qikiqtani General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The cause of death is not known, but an autopsy has been ordered, Akavak said.
Because the man died in the Iqaluit detachment, the RCMP called in investigators from elsewhere, he said.
"RCMP have assigned a major crime unit from outside the territory," Akavak said. "A team of investigators from Yellowknife is coming in to Iqaluit to investigate."
Police said they wouldn't release the name of the deceased man until family members were notified.
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