No EPS wrongdoing for 2020 in-custody death, ASIRT finds, as probe poses medical assessment questions
Alberta's police watchdog cleared the Edmonton Police Service of any negligence after an intoxicated man died in its custody but questions have been raised about whether or not officers should have brought him to the hospital first.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to review an early morning incident in June 2020 where a man was taken into police custody after a disturbance at a southwest Petro-Canada gas station.
Around 4 a.m., officers responded for a report of a man appearing to be under drugs and acting "agitated."
The unnamed 48-year-old man was taken to the southwest division station after officers recognized he had been involved in two other trespass calls earlier that day, ASIRT recounted in the report.
Officers assessed the man but did not notice any signs of medical distress, ASIRT said. While police considered the risk the man posed to himself, officers believed placing him in a cell "would be the safest place for him."
ASIRT later determined that the man had taken crystal meth before his interaction with police and that community peace officers performed proper health checks on him while he was in police custody.
Despite this, roughly three hours after being placed in a cell, the man died. An autopsy found he died of methamphetamine toxicity. The medical examiner said it was possible "that had he been taken to the hospital instead of the police station, his life would have been saved."
In an interview with ASIRT investigators, the medical examiner elaborated, saying that a person found in a confused or abnormal state should be taken to hospital or seen by a paramedic before being placed in a holding cell.
"His intentional drug use was the cause of his death and had no connection to his detention by police," wrote Matthew Block, ASIRT assistant executive director, in his decision. "However, liability can still result for anyone responsible for the affected person while he was detained."
An internal EPS review of the incident was also undertaken, ASIRT said. EPS policy says if there are any doubts about a detainee's medical condition, officers are to always "resolve" them "in favour of the detainee's wellbeing."
Based on the evidence made available to ASIRT, Block said there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officers involved committed an offence.
Block added that while police officers have specialized training, they are not medical professionals.
"As such, they must be alive to situations where it may be important to have a person in their custody medically assessed," Block said. "Again, the standard is reasonableness and not perfection."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.