Seventy-Eight-Year-Old Man Dies During Police Intervention in Saint-Jérôme, Québec (Mar. 30, 2021)

The Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes (Bureau of Independent Investigations, BEI) is investigating the death of a 78-year-old man in Saint-Jérôme, Québec, during an intervention by Saint-Jérôme Police Department officers on March 30, 2021.

According to the BEI, at around 10:30 AM, a man allegedly contacted 911 in some distress and mentioning that he had a firearm in his possession. Officers of the Police Department of the City of Saint-Jérôme located the man and undertook some sort of interaction with him. The BEI report that police say that at some point during the interaction the man shot himself. He was reportedly transported to hospital where he later died.

No other information is available publicly. There has been no public confirmation of police claims. The BEI has assigned six investigators to this case.

Police are not the proper response to mental health crises. In many occasions in Canada, people have taken their lives during or after interventions by police.

Thirty-Seven-Year-old Man Dies in Ambulance after Restrained by Police (Mar. 25, 2021)

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of a 37-year-old man after he was restrained by Toronto police. According to the SIU, the Toronto Police Service called to assist Toronto EMS with “an aggressive patient” near Laird Drive and Industrial Street in East York at around 3:15 PM on March 25, 2021. An officer restrained the man and then accompanied the man and paramedics to hospital. On the way to the hospital, the man showed vital signs absent. He was pronounced dead at hospital at 4:10 PM. No other details have been provided publicly at this point, including what the officer did to restrain the man or what equipment or weapons might have been used to do so. The SIU has assigned three investigators and one forensic investigator to examine the case.

Woman in Distress (53) Falls to Death During Police Action (March 19, 2021)

A 53-year-old woman in distress fell to her death when Greater Sudbury Police Service officers were deployed against her on March 19, 2021. The Special Investigations Unit reports that shortly after 5 PM several people contacted 911 to report th a person on the Bridge of Nations who appeared to be in distress.

Instead of health supports being sent, officers with the Greater Sudbury Police Service were deployed. They located a woman on the bridge and began I reacting with her.

At 5:44 PM, she fell from the bridge to the railway bed below. She was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case. Two subject officers and seven witness officers have been designated so far. 

This is a other case of someone in distress dying when police are deployed instead of proper health supports. Many fatal falls occur once police intervene against a person in mental health crisis. Police are not about health and wellness.

Christopher (Jude) Cesar (31) Shot and Killed by Provincial Police in Joliette, Quebec (March 16, 2021)

A 31-year-old man was shot and killed by police in Joliette, Quebec (northeast of Montreal) on March 16, 2021. He has since been identified as Christopher (Jude) Cesar.

According to the Bureau des enquetes independantes BEI) reports that provincial police (SQ) were called to a house in the city around 2:45 PM. They say that police claim they broke down the door and found a man stabbing a woman. A police officer shot the man, who was transported to hospital where he was declared dead. The BEI also report that a woman was transported to hospital and her life is not in danger.

79-Year-Old Woman Killed in Montreal Police Chase (March 16, 2021)

A 79-year-old woman was killed when struck by a vehicle during a Montreal police chase on March 16, 2021.

The Bureau des enquetes independantes (BEI) reports that the chase began when a Montreal police officer attempted to stop a vehicle for allegedly speeding.
According to the BEI, the officer caught up to the driver, who allegedly accelerated the vehicle, losing control and striking the 79-year-old woman. The victim was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The BEI has assigned six investigators on the case. They are not an independent unit and rely on other police forces for their investigations.

Victim of Calgary Police Shooting Identified as 20-Year-Old Woman in Distress

Almost 24-hours after Calgary Police Service officers shot and killed someone at the Nuvo Hotel, some additional details have been released by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT). They report that Calgary Police Service officers attended a third-floor room at the Nuvo Hotel in response to a call placed by a woman who sounded distressed and was threatening self-harm. According to ASIRT, a woman appeared in the doorway as police approached the room, then turned and went back inside. They report that she returned and appeared in the doorway again, this time holding something that looked like a handgun.

The ASIRT report continues, curiously given that they claim to have reviewed bodycam footage:

“Further details regarding what the woman may have done with the handgun or what occurred thereafter are being withheld pending additional possible interviews; however, shortly thereafter, two officers discharged their service pistols. The woman was struck and fell back into the room.”

The woman was dead at the scene. A pellet pistol was allegedly recovered nearby.

This is another case of someone in distress being met by lethal violence by police.

Calgary Police Shoot and Kill Person (Mar. 3, 2021)

Calgary Police Service officers shot and killed someone in the early evening of March 3, 2021, in the city’s downtown. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating. It is reported that Calgary police were called to the Nuvo Hotel at 827 12 Avenue SW a bit after 4 PM. At some point an officer shot and killed a person. A person staying at the Nuvo Hotel, who was outside smoking when the shooting occurred, says she heard around six gunshots in quick succession. No other details have been released publicly at this point.

Forty-Three-Year-Old Man Dies After Being Tased in Edmonton Police Custody (Feb. 24, 2021)

On March 2, 2021, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) announced that a 43-year-old man died after being tased while in Edmonton Police Service (EPS) custody. ASIRT report that police initially attended a residence on February 23, on a disturbance call. They interacted with a 43-year-old man and left. The next day, at about 12:22 PM, EPS officers and members of the integrated Crisis Team (PACT), a unit made up of both EPS officers and mental health workers with Alberta Health Services (AHS), did a follow-up with the man as a so-called wellness check. Police decided to arrest the man under Mental Health Act provisions. At around 1:27 PM, EPS officers transported the man to the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH).

At about 2:22 PM, EPS officers entered the secure room in which the man had been placed, in order to transfer him to another unit. At some point, a “physical altercation” occurred involving three EPS officers, hospital staff, including three security guards, and the man. During this altercation, one police officer deployed a conducted energy weapon. The man was subdued, and medical personnel administered medication. Soon afterwards, the man became unresponsive and could not be revived.

This is another person in mental health crisis who ends up dead when police are deployed.