Saskatoon police chief Clive Weighill says health agencies should be involved when people are arrested for public intoxication. (CBC)

The death of a 57-year-old man who was in custody after being arrested for public intoxication, has Saskatoon's chief of police expressing frustration.

"I'm requesting some sustainable solutions from the ministries of health, social services and corrections," Clive Weighill, Saskatoon's police chief, said Wednesday. "We have to put an end to placing unfortunate individuals in police cells for non-criminal mental health addiction issues."

While police said their investigation into the man's death was ongoing and would involve the coroner's office, Weighill said he was moved to speak right away about the situation.

'This is not a law and order issue, it’s a health issue.'—Police Chief Clive Weighill

"I just wanted to sound my frustration," he said, noting officers in his city arrest six to 12 intoxicated people every day.

In some cases, Weighill said, the person arrested has been in and out of cells 70 to 80 times in a year.

"This really is a large and complex issue," he added, saying police are on the front lines, when other agencies should be involved, too.

"[This] by default remains the responsibility of the police," he said. "This is not a law and order issue, it’s a health issue."

According to Weighill, there have been four other similar deaths in cells in Saskatoon in the past four years.

"We've got to get some help from the province," he said. "It's not just in Saskatoon. It's right around the province. We see these unfortunate incidents in Regina, Prince Albert, within RCMP jurisdictions. It’s a problem."

Weighill suggested a specialized facility, that is not a police environment, would be better suited to help people under the influence.

"If we can have some type of facility that we could take individuals to, so they can get their health issues taken care of — if they have some mental health issues — they can maybe get some counseling or help for that," he said. "We're a police environment. We're not a health environment."

According to police, the man who died was found around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday.

He had been picked up about 12 hours earlier on 3rd Avenue North. They said the man was intoxicated and there were three outstanding warrants for summary offences.

Police said they checked on the man throughout the night.

Because the death was in police custody, an independent investigator from Saskatchewan's ministry of justice will be overseeing the investigation into the case.

With files from CBC's Peter Mills