Kelowna police cleared in downtown sudden death

KELOWNA – An independent inquiry has concluded there is no link between police actions and a man found dead in Kelowna hours after he was released from custody.

Kelowna RCMP alerted the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. that a man in his 40s was found in medical distress near the Queensway bus exchange in downtown Kelowna on Oct. 5.

IIO spokesperson Marten Youssef says although at least one officer was present when he died, actions taken by police were not the cause.

“Any time police are on the scene and someone dies they have to notify us and we investigate to determine if there is a connection between the actions of the officers and the fatality,” he says. "No connection was found."

Youssef says every year the IIO receives hundreds of these types of notifications with only 25 per cent resulting in official investigations.

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