Inquest called into death of man found naked, yelling in delirium near riverbank in Winnipeg
Inquest will examine whether anything can be done to prevent future tragedies
An inquest has been called into the death of a man who was naked and behaving erratically near the riverbank in Winnipeg moments before police restrained him and he became unresponsive.
Officers involved in the arrest of Aaron Ross, 27, were cleared of wrongdoing by the provincial police watchdog, the Independent Investigative Unit (IIU), two weeks ago.
But Manitoba's chief medical examiner Dr. John K. Younes ordered the inquest on Wednesday to look further into the death, which happened Sept. 23, 2019.
Just after 12:30 a.m. that day, police were called about a naked man behaving erratically near the riverbank on Assiniboine Avenue near Kennedy Street, says a news release from Younes's office.
Ross was lying on his back, yelling randomly, and as officers approached, he reportedly jumped up into a fighting stance and confronted the officers, the release says.
Ross was taken to ground and handcuffed. Paramedics were called due to the concern of excited delirium exhibited by Ross.
When the paramedics arrived, Ross was relaxed and had started shallow breathing but he soon became unresponsive, Younes's release says. Resuscitation was initiated and he was rushed to St. Boniface Hospital.
He showed no evidence of neurological recovery over the following days and he was pronounced dead a week later, on Sept. 30.
The cause of death was determined to be anoxic brain injury due to cardiac arrest, which in turn was caused by the excited delirium. However, another part of the cause of death was deemed to be the physiologic stress of struggle and restraint by police.
The IIU release two weeks ago said witnesses had reported seeing Ross fall and hit his head before police arrived, and officers restrained Ross because he appeared to be heading toward the river.
Ross's excited delirium was caused by methamphetamine or cocaine, the IIU report said.
Inquests can be called under the Fatality Inquiries Act if the chief medical examiner has reasonable grounds to believe the deceased person died as a result of use of force by a peace officer acting in the course of duty or if, at the time of death, the deceased person was in the custody of a peace officer.
However, an inquest cannot assign blame or find legal responsibility.
The inquest will examine the circumstances and events leading to Ross' death for the purpose of finding out what, if anything, can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future.
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