Special Investigations Unit. (File photo/Postmedia Network)

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Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a provincial police officer of wrongdoing after a man in custody overdosed.

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On March 31, a man wanted on Canada-wide warrants originating in Vancouver and Sudbury was arrested in Goderich.

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The man was searched and taken to the OPP detachment in Clinton, where he was searched again, the Special Investigations Unit said.

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When the man was seen hunched over the sink and toilet area, he was removed from his cell and searched.

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Officers found a plastic bag with narcotic residue in his sock. Shortly afterward, the man became unresponsive and had a seizure, the SIU said.

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Officers administered two doses of naloxone and called paramedics. He was taken to hospital for treatment of serious medical issues, including a multidrug overdose, the SIU said.

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SIU Director Joseph Martino found the searches appeared to be thorough and officers acted quickly to provide medical care.

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There was “nothing in the man’s presentation to suggest a need for, or grounds to justify, a more intrusive search,” the SIU said.

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The report also found officers acted quickly to recognize the man was in medical distress and provide emergency medical care.

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“For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case,” Martino wrote.

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The SIU investigates incidents involving police that result in serious injury or death, the discharge of a firearm, or allegations of sexual assault.

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