Sister of Winnipeg man who died in detox wants to know why he wasn't hospitalized

The sister of a man who died after being placed in a Winnipeg detoxification centre wants to know why her brother was not hospitalized instead.

Alishia Brass said her brother Aiden Genaille, 24, died at the Main Street Project on June 27 after he was detained by the Winnipeg Police Service.

She fears her brother was not provided with sufficient care because he was intoxicated.

"I feel like they just treated him with no respect and just didn't care," she said. "I just wanted him to be treated fairly."

Earlier this week, Winnipeg police said officers responded to a report of a man being assaulted by a group of people on Mayfair Avenue in Winnipeg's River-Osborne neighbourhood shortly after 5 a.m. on June 27.

The attackers had left by the time officers arrived, police said in a Monday news release. The man was medically cleared by paramedics and declined police involvement in the investigation of his assault, according to police.

The assault victim was detained under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act — which allows officers to detain someone if they are intoxicated and police fear they are a danger to themselves or others — because he was intoxicated and for his own safety, police said. 

He was taken to downtown's Main Street Project, where he was medically cleared a second time and placed in the detoxification facility's care, according to police.

Shortly before 11 a.m. that day, the man experienced a medical emergency and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the police news release said.

Police did not identify the man, but Brass confirmed it was her brother.

She said she wants to know why police did not take him to hospital instead of to the Main Street Project.

She also wants to know why no one "[made] sure he was OK before they threw him into his cell, or at least check on him or give him some decency, a chance to live, even," she said in an interview on Wednesday.

She also said no member of her family was allowed to see Genaille's body or identify him at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre.

The Main Street Project said it can't comment on the man's death because it is under investigation, spokesperson Cindy Titus said in a statement.

But Jamil Mahmood, the Main Street Project's executive director, said paramedics assess every person who is brought into the facility.

People in the Main Street Project's care are also checked on every 15 minutes and woken up every hour, Mahmood said.

Police said the Independent Investigation Unit, Manitoba's police watchdog agency, has been notified of the death and has assumed responsibility for the investigation.

That investigation prevents the Winnipeg Police Service from commenting, spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon said in a statement.

Brass said she does not know why anyone would assault her brother.

"Aiden, he walks with his head down. Like, that's how much he keeps to himself," she said. "He doesn't bug anybody. He's a quiet guy. He just likes watching his anime on his phone."