A coroner's inquest will be held into the death of 39-year-old Whitehorse man who died Saturday morning after being arrested by Whitehorse RCMP.

A 911 call about a man staggering around with a needle in his hand sent two officers to the Chilkoot Inn Hotel on Fourth Avenue at 7 a.m., M-Division RCMP said in a statement this morning.

When the officers found the man and placed him under arrest, he resisted, with an "altercation" taking place, police said.

Unable to control the man, the officers requested backup, with a second 911 call being made to get assistance for the officers.

After they arrived, police were able to handcuff the man.

"Officers noted within minutes of handcuffing the man that he had gone into medical distress," the statement reads.

He received emergency treatment at the scene before being taken by ambulance to Whitehorse General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead "a short time later."

The man is known to police, but his name isn't being released at the request of his family.

M-Division spokesman Roger Lockwood said this morning it's policy not to release the name without agreement from the family.

In their statement, police also noted neither a conductive energy weapon (like a Taser) or any other "intermediate intervention weapons" were deployed or used during the arrest.

Additional details such as the type of medical distress the man was in, the number of officers in total on the scene and so on are also unavailable as they're part of the ongoing internal RCMP investigation, Lockwood said.

The RCMP and the Yukon Coroner's Office are investigating the incident as an in-custody death.

M-Division's major crimes unit and forensic identification section are looking at it under the direction of the B.C. E-Division's major crimes unit.

Investigators from Vancouver have been called in to lead the investigation.

As is the case with all in-custody deaths, an autopsy has been ordered and a coroner's inquest will be held.

Hospital spokeswoman Val Pike said this morning she can't comment on the death because it is now in the hands of the coroner's office.

0Chief coroner Sharon Hanley said this morning the autopsy will likely be done tomorrow, but further tests may be needed to determine the exact cause of death.

The coroner's inquest, meanwhile, won't likely be held for at least six months, given all the work that goes into preparing for an inquest, she said.