EPS cleared after man on meth and marijuana fell from 8th floor balcony: ASIRT

Police did nothing wrong the day a man fell from a high-rise tower in west Edmonton, according to an Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation that concluded Monday.

Officers were called to West Edmonton Village on 69 Avenue and 173 Street at 7:40 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2021.

A woman reported that her husband "had been using methamphetamine and marijuana, had not slept for three days, and that she was concerned for his welfare."

"She added that he was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off the balcony of their tenth floor apartment," the ASIRT report states.

The man let three Edmonton Police Service officers into the apartment at 8:12 a.m. but he then "moved onto the balcony and used a screwdriver to jam the balcony door closed."

Officers called for an ambulance, a police and crisis response team [PACT] and tactical officers.

After the man threatened to throw a propane tank off the balcony police also requested a negotiator.

At 9:07 a.m., the man climbed down from the tenth floor balcony to a ninth floor balcony. Officers went to that suite, but did not go out on the balcony, the report says.

At 9:18 a.m., he began to use the belt to lower himself down to the eighth floor balcony, but fell.

The scene of a where a man fell from an eighth-floor balcony in west Edmonton on February 28, 2021 (CTV News Edmonton)

Several neighbors captured video of the fall which ASIRT said showed he was the only person on the balcony at the time.

"There is no evidence of a use of force by the officers. Based on the evidence available, the witness officers were only in the same room as the [man] briefly," says the report signed by ASIRT Assistant Executive Director Matthew Block.

"They were never on the balconies with the [man]...The videos provide clear evidence of why the [man] fell, and no police officers were near him at the time he fell."

The man, who was not named by police or ASIRT, survived the fall but was left with "life-altering injuries."

"There is no evidence that the officers acted improperly in any way. The witness officers appear to have dealt with the [man] carefully, and attempted to get other appropriate services such as EMS, PACT, and a negotiator in place."

ASIRT is called in whenever a police investigation leads to serious injury or death.