Man (35) Dies During Police Action in Barrie (Feb. 4, 2023)

A 35-year-old man reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a police intervention in Barrie, Ontario, on February 4, 2023. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) reports that at around 12:10 PM, a woman fled from a vehicle in the east end of Barrie and contacted police. The vehicle reportedly left the scene and was tracked by Barrie Police Service officers. At around 2:30 PM, officers made visual and verbal contact with a man in the area of Kempenfelt Drive and Nelson Square. They allegedly initiated brief negotiations with the man who at some point allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The SIU has assigned two investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case.

Mitch Croston (34) Identified as Unhoused Man in Distress Killed by Calgary Police on February 14, 2023

Mitch Croston has been identified by his mother Shelley Croston as the thirty-four-year-old man shot and killed by Calgary police in a southeast Calgary office building. Mr. Croston had recorded hip-hop songs and was trying to pursue a career as a DJ. She says that her son was struggling with schizophrenia since his twenties and more recently drug addiction. She wants answers to why police shot her youngest son and why they could not properly deal with a man struggling with mental illness.

In her words: “Why did they shoot him like that — my son had schizophrenia, he was struggling … they’re not trained that this person might be having an episode.” She says her son “wasn’t a dangerous person” and did not carry a gun or other weapons. She relates that he struggled with a fentanyl addiction and had periods of paranoia in which he was convinced people were out to kill him and her.

Mr. Croston had been evicted from his apartment in October and in his mother’s view “He was probably going to that (Franklin Industrial Park) building to get warm … he told me earlier he’d been sleeping in bus shelters.”

His mother says he had attempted to get more hospital treatment recently, without success. Instead, she says, he was told to rely on his medication.

The police killing of Mr. Croston was the third shooting by police in or near Calgary in the span of one week. Both of the other incidents also allegedly involved people struggling with mental health issues.

This killing shows the layers of violence and social murder both carried out and upheld by policing. An unhoused person who needed health care supports. As those resources are underfunded and diminished, police budgets continue to balloon. At the same time property interests ae prioritized over human life and someone is killed over seeking shelter in a vacant building.

Calgary Police Shoot and Kill Man (Feb. 14, 2023)

Calgary police shot and killed a man in the early morning of February 14, 2023.

It is reported that police were called to a vacant industrial building in the 3000 block of Second Avenue SE, north of Memorial Drive, in the Franklin Industrial Park, at around 4:20 AM, regarding an alleged break-and-enter.

Police claim that when officers arrived they found an individual inside the building. Some sort of interaction occurred an police shot the man.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the killing.

Dilbag “Dylan” Hothi Identified as Suspended Surrey Police Officer Who Died with Police Present in Langley

Twenty-six-year-old Dilbag “Dylan” Hothi has been identified as the suspended Surrey Police Service (SPS) officer who allegedly killed himself with RCMP officers present in Langley, British Columbia, on February 8, 2023.

Hothi had been arrested on August 16, 2022, for alleged breach of trust. The investigation was being headed by the RCMP. Business in Vancouver reports that “detectives were probing whether a police officer provided information to someone associated with a gang.” Ron MacDonald, head of the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), has only said that the incident “may be linked to criminal allegations against Hothi.”

Hothi had one year of experience with the RCMP before joining the SPS. He had previously served in the military. SPS Media Liaison Ian MacDonald says, “The SPS recruiting, interviewing and vetting process is thorough and rigorous.”

It has not been said whether a recent risk assessment had been done on officer Hothi, to ascertain any safety concerns. It has also not been said how he gained access to a weapon. SPS claim he did not have access to his service weapon.

The shooting occurred at The Range Langley, a large indoor shooting range. On their website they claim they employ police and military members.

Vancouver Police Shoot and Kill Man (Feb. 9, 2023)

Vancouver police shot and killed a man on the evening of February 9, 2023. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC reports that police responded to a 911 call regarding a man near the north end of the Granville Street Bridge who was allegedly behaving erratically. VPD report that officers responded to the bridge at 6:45 PM. At some point there was an undisclosed “interaction” between the man and police during which shots were fired by police. The man was subsequently pronounced dead.

BC Emergency Health Services report that three ambulances and a supervisor were dispatched to the North End of the Granville Bridge around 6:54 PM. This would mean that police only interacted with the victim for under 10 minutes.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison told Global News that, “The person had either in his possession or had access to a weapon. The officers who were on scene believed that their safety or the safety of others was in danger or they were at risk of death or grievous bodily harm.” These are all rather vague statements and there is a difference between having a weapon and having access to a weapon. There has been no evidence of a non-police weapon, or what that alleged weapon was, provided publicly at this time.

Surrey Police Officer Under Investigation Dies During RCMP Deployment in Langley (Feb. 8, 2023)

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC is investigating a death during an RCMP action in Langley, British Columbia, on February 8, 2023. They report that police were trying to locate a man reported to be in distress at a business in the 9900-block of 201 Street. Langley RCMP have confirmed the incident occurred at The Range Langley, a large indoor shooting range.

The man was identified as an off-duty member of the Surrey Police Service (SPS). The force has reported that the officer was under a suspension with pay because of allegations of a breach of trust incident in 2022. SPS spokesperson Ian MacDonald said, “My understanding was that this officer was suspended with pay and was subject to (an) investigation. It was a breach of trust investigation that was being fronted by Surrey RCMP and was working its way through BC Prosecution Services.”

RCMP claim that the man “sustained a serious injury that appears to have been self-inflicted” while police were inside the building. He was subsequently pronounced dead.

No other details have been released.

Wesley Wanuch (45) Killed in RCMP Action in Cold Lake First Nation (Feb. 4, 2023)

Wesley Wanuch, a 45-year-old member of Beaver First Nation in Treaty 8 territory, was killed in an Alberta RCMP action at a home in Cold Lake First Nation on February 4, 2023.

Few details have been released publicly. RCMP claim that officers responded to a firearms complaint and that they contained the residence and attempted to make contact with the person. They also claim a “confrontation” of some kind occurred that resulted “in at least one officer discharging a firearm.”

Police entered the home and found the man dead. They claim that firearms were found in the home.

Family members have disputed this. They say the call did not involve a firearms complaint. They also note that Mr. Warnuch was a licensed hunter, so of course there were guns in his home. This should not have any nefarious implications. In the family’s view, this was “a mental health issue.”

Police are often the only ones present, apart from the victim, when they kill. They control the flow of information and often try to create a public view that a victim killed themselves when police know full well they were responsible.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating.

Eighty-Year-Old Man Dies in Windsor Police Action (Jan. 17, 2023)

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of an 80-year-old man in Amherstburg, Ontario, on the afternoon of January 17, 2023. They report that around 10 AM, Windsor Police Service officers went to an apartment on Dalhousie Street for a domestic call. Allegedly non one answered the door. After some time, officers obtained a warrant and entered the apartment where a man was found with serious injuries. The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case. It has not been reported publicly how long police waited before seeking a warrant and entering the apartment. No details of any police interaction with the man, including medical assistance, have been released publicly.