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A complaint about a rowdy house party brought Delta police officers and teenager Taylor Friesen-Purdy together for a brief period.

The 16-year-old was in custody for two hours after his arrest Aug. 30. What happened during that time remains a mystery.

The day after Mr. Friesen-Purdy was released into his grandmother's custody, he was found dead at a friend's house in Tsawwassen, where he was staying overnight.

David Butcher, who is representing the Friesen-Purdy family, said the teen's parents have filed an official complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner in the hope they will get answers.

The family alleges in its complaint that police roughed up the young man during his arrest.

Bruce Brown, B.C. deputy police complaint commissioner, said the complaint was filed at the end of September and an investigation has begun.

"It's quite a lengthy investigation. Many people have and will be interviewed," he said. "Police have six months to complete an investigation into a conduct complaint."

The lawyer, Mr. Butcher, said yesterday: "They've only just begun their investigation and we're trying to permit them to carry on without too much comment. It's our view that the investigation has to be allowed to run its course."

The Port Moody Municipal Police Force is investigating the complaint and will report its findings to the commissioner.

Delta Police Department Chief Constable Jim Cessford said Mr. Friesen-Purdy and other people were arrested Aug. 30 following a house-party complaint.

The department's major crimes and forensic-identification section probed Mr. Friesen-Purdy's death at the time and the Coroner's Office also investigated. There was an autopsy five days later.

Chief Constable Cessford said officers met with the family several times.

"They were kept apprised of all facets of the investigation as we knew them," he said in a statement yesterday, after declining to make any additional comments about the investigation.

"The Delta Police investigation, which involved the interviews of several witnesses, and the Coroner's Office investigation, both determined that foul play was not involved."

The Coroner's Office has assumed full responsibility for the investigation, Chief Constable Cessford said, in addition to the independent investigation Port Moody police are conducting.

"I can only reiterate that the information I have before me at this point would indicate that foul play is not involved in the death of Taylor Friesen-Purdy," he said.

"I can certainly understand and appreciate the fact that the family wants answers and I truly hope that at some time we will find out what actually caused his unfortunate and untimely death."

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