'So many questions and no answers': Family of man killed by police launches lawsuit against EPS

Family and supporters hold up signs of Mathios Arkangelo, who was shot and killed by an Edmonton police officer, at a protest in his honour on Sept. 7, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

A group of protesters gathered outside of the Edmonton Police Service Northeast Division on Saturday, calling for police accountability and the resignation of police chief Dale McFee.

The protest was one of multiple that have been held since 28-year-old Mathios Arkangelo was shot and killed by a police officer in Fraser on June 29.

"I feel if we stop … this thing will be brushed under the rug," said Mathios' older brother Dini Arkangelo. "People will move on with their lives, and stuff like this will keep happening."

The shooting was captured by nearby security cameras, and the family released a 25-minute video compilation showing the interaction from multiple angles. 

In the video, posted on YouTube, Mathios can be seen with his arms out to the side around a car-length away from the officer when he is shot.

His family have said he might have been holding a pocket knife he used for work. No knife was reported by EPS or ASIRT at the scene.

The family have launched a $1 million lawsuit alleging that the officer who killed him, as well as three other responding officers, were not properly trained.

"Both the officer and my brother would have been able to go home if the officer was properly trained and followed protocol," Dini said.

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Edmonton Police Services and McFee are also named in the lawsuit.

Dini said the family haven't heard from EPS since the morning after Mathios was killed, and they have been told they'll have to wait eight to 12 months to see Mathios' autopsy report.

"The Edmonton police haven't been telling us anything, we have so many questions and no answers," Dini said. "We're hoping by launching this lawsuit, we'll get more answers – especially for my mom and my family."

The group Justice for Mathios launched a petition on Thursday calling for McFee's resignation or removal, as well as a full investigation of EPS practices. 

"We just want justice, we want to hold everybody accountable and we want the whole system to change," Dini said. "We don't want any other family to go through this, because it's terrible."

According to Tracking Injustice, a law enforcement data tracking project, Alberta has seen a 166 per cent increase in the number of police-involved deaths between 2000 and 2022. 

Of the 121 people killed by a law enforcement officer in that time, the data shows 39 of them were killed by Edmonton police officers.

CTV News Edmonton has reached out to EPS for comment and is awaiting a response.