EDMONTON -- The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after a 43-year-old man died in hospital while police and security attempted to subdue him and used a Taser.

The man was taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital by police around 12:10 p.m. on Feb. 24 after they received a welfare check request from his psychiatrist, who reported that the man had been involved in a violent incident the day before.

It was reported that the man had tried to break down the door of a family member.

Police said the man cooperated with officers, and was taken to hospital on a Form 10 arrest under the Alberta Mental Health Act.

Around 2:15 p.m., staff called police and asked for help to move the man from a secure holding room in the hospital’s emergency ward to the hospital’s mental health ward.

Police said a physical struggle happened when they arrived between the man, who was not handcuffed, and officers, hospital staff and security officers. A Taser was used on the 6’4”, 250-pound man in an attempt to bring him under control.

According to police, the man went into medical distress and wasn’t breathing after the altercation. He was taken to the hospital’s trauma room, and staff performed CPR. Despite their efforts, police said the man died later.

One police officer was treated by hospital staff for minor injuries, including bite marks and scratches on his face after the incident.

ASIRT is called in to investigate any time police use of force leads to serious injury or death.  

Correction:

A previous version of this article incorrectly said the incident happened at the Alberta Hospital.