IIO clears Surrey police of wrongdoing in custody death

British Columbia’s Independent Investigations Office has cleared Surrey Police Service officers of wrongdoing in the December 2025 death of a man who became unresponsive in a police vehicle while being taken to SPS cells.

In a public report released Wednesday, Sept. 16, chief civilian director Jessica Berglund said the man died from “medical conditions and alcohol consumption,” according to the post-mortem report. The report found no injuries related to the incident or arrest.

Berglund said officers were lawfully carrying out their duties when they arrested the man after receiving evidence of a possible domestic assault. She said there was no evidence that officers used unjustified force or were negligent during their interactions with him.

Surrey police responded to a domestic-disturbance call at about 9:34 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2025. The 9-1-1 caller, identified in the report as a civilian witness, said an altercation between family members had escalated to screaming and a possible physical assault.

A witness officer said police found the man asleep in bed. After officers told him he was under arrest and received no response, they moved him from the bed and seated him on the floor. He was then lifted from the floor and began yelling belligerently when handcuffed. Officers took him outside and placed him in the rear seat of a police vehicle; the witness officer said he had calmed by then.

During the trip to SPS cells, the witness officer heard the man snoring in the rear seat but could not hear other sounds because of a partition between the front and rear seats. At the station, officers found he had fallen from his seat into the footwell. His face had a blue tinge and he did not appear to be breathing, the officer reported.

The officer called for assistance, removed the man from the vehicle and began CPR. He was taken to hospital and admitted to intensive care. The BC Coroners Service told the IIO that he was declared dead on Dec. 15.

IIO investigators reviewed statements from one civilian and one police witness, police computer-aided dispatch records, police-radio audio, scene video, and post-mortem and toxicology reports. No officer was designated as a subject officer because initial evidence indicated the man had suffered a medical event. The IIO investigates police-related incidents resulting in serious harm or death, whether or not wrongdoing is alleged.