By Dan Jones, LJI
Northumberland 89.7 FM
The Special Investigations Unit of Ontario has cleared the Northumberland OPP of any wrongdoing in the in-custody death of a 28-year-old man.
Provincial police were called to a home in Cramahe Township on May 24, 2026, for a requested welfare check. Officers were advised by a family member who had reported that the man had facial injuries, a swollen face, and black eyes. When authorities attended the home just after 7 p.m., they located the man and learned he had suffered a seizure in the garage. Police claim the man told them he had fallen, as he did not take his prescribed medication that day.
Officers found the man had visible facial injuries, and he was arrested without incident for alleged release order violations and held for a bail hearing.
The man was taken to Northumberland Hills Hospital for an assessment, on the recommendation of paramedics, due to concerns about his medical condition.
There, he underwent a CT scan, was prescribed two more medications, cleared from treatment, and discharged back into the custody of the OPP.
While in police cells in Cobourg, officers checked the man about every 15 minutes, and video shows he slept on the cell bench for nine hours. Just before 10 a.m. the next morning, the man was observed using the toilet and turning his back to the camera; SIU investigators state he reached into the toilet but could not definitively say what was happening.
A short while later, the man ate breakfast and again lay on the cell bench. The report states that a few minutes later, the man began to show signs of a seizure, falling off the bench and onto the floor. Officers entered the cell, called for paramedics, and began providing care. However, while the man initially appeared responsive, he allegedly experienced another seizure.
Just after 10:30 a.m., paramedics transported him back to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
SIU Director Joseph Martino found that officers acted appropriately and that the officers themselves, with due care and regard for the man’s health and well-being as they promptly responded to his cell to render care pending the arrival of paramedics.”
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