The province's police watchdog has been notified of the death of a man who'd been taken into police custody on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast.
In a brief statement Wednesday, Mounties said they were first called for reports that the man was trying to conduct a fraudulent transaction at a bank in Sechelt.
They arrived at the bank on Sunshine Coast Highway shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The man was identified as a suspect and detained by police, the RCMP said, but allegedly tried to take off as he was being escorted to their cruiser.
Officers say they chased the man into a "thick blackberry brush area," found him, and tried to get him out of the brush.
As they were trying to bring him back to the car, he started complaining of breathing problems, the RCMP said. He collapsed and was unresponsive.
Despite life-saving efforts from police, a local doctor and nurse then paramedics, he could not be resuscitated, Mounties said. The man, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead in hospital.
The Independent Investigations Office was alerted to the case, and is investigating whether police actions or inactions are linked to the man's death.
The IIO is called to investigate all police-involved incidents that result in death or serious harm, regardless of if there are allegations of police wrongdoing.
The civilian oversight agency issued its own statement on the investigation but did not provide further details.
