SIU clears London police officer in Feb. 2021 death of man in custody

The SIU said Fabian Hart, 34, was arrested Feb. 1, 2021, and placed in a London police cell. He went into medical distress the next day and was pronounced dead in hospital.

Ontario’s police watchdog has found no reasonable grounds to believe a police officer committed a criminal offence after a London, Ont., man died in custody in February.

Fabian Hart, 34, was arrested Feb. 1, 2021, and placed in a London police cell, the Special Investigations Unit reported at the time. He was pronounced dead in hospital the following day after going into medical distress while in custody. The cause of death has since been attributed to “methamphetamine – amphetamine toxicity.”

While the SIU now says “it might have been advisable for the officer to have taken Mr. Hart to hospital sooner than was the case,” it notes there was “insufficient evidence to reasonably conclude that the officer’s failure to do so amounted to a marked departure from a reasonable standard of care.”

According to the SIU’s report, Hart, identified as the complainant in the report, was arrested by two officers on the afternoon of Feb. 1, 2021, for violating a judicial order to stay away from a woman.

Hart was placed in a police cell at roughly 4 p.m. and, when asked about his condition, told the sergeant in charge of the cells at the time that he had previously consumed three shots of alcohol and expected to experience withdrawal symptoms at some point. “He denied having consumed any drugs prior to being arrested,” the SIU said.

At roughly 1:40 a.m., the sergeant in charge of the detention unit at that time checked on Hart, who was shaking. Hart said he was suffering alcohol withdrawal and needed sugary drinks and the sergeant brought him juice and cereal bars, the SIU said.

Twenty minutes later, while Hart was being transferred to another cell, the SIU said he told the sergeant he was concerned about having a seizure and the sergeant reminded him to tell staff if he needed any help. The sergeant told two cadets to keep a close eye on Hart and let him know if his condition changed.

The officer at the centre of the SIU’s investigation, identified in the report as the subject officer, came on duty at around 6 a.m. and took over from the overnight sergeant. The report noted that the subject officer declined to be interviewed or to provide notes, as is his legal right.