Dene Man, Darryl Sabourin (45), Killed in “Altercation” with Security Officers at Edmonton Hospital (March 6, 2024)

Darryl Sabourin, a 45-year-old Dene father of four from Hay River, NWT was killed after what is described as “an altercation” with security officers at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton on March 6, 2024. It is reported that Mr. Sabourin checked himself into the hospital for detox treatment for alcohol addiction on March 4.

His sister-in-law Shauna Gordon claims that he was restrained by “peace officers” and believes that they used excessive force on him. Gordon says that staff told her Mr. Sabourin had been restrained by peace officers after growing agitated in the facility’s detox area early that morning. She reports that he was restrained and eventually became unresponsive. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Gordon told media that when she saw Sabourin’s body, his face was covered in bruises, and a tube filled with blood was in his throat.

Because this death involved private security, Edmonton Police Service (EPS) are the ones investigating. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASRIT), which covers formal police forces had not been informed of the case prior to media inquiries.

Mr. Sabourin was father to four sons, aged 11 to 19. Shauna Gordon is caring for them and tells media they are stunned by his loss. In her words, “They are extremely angry. They’re unable to breathe, just crying and crying in my house. It’s really devastating.”

The family has set up a fundraiser to cover funeral costs and arrangements.

Thirty-Four-Year-Old Woman Dies in RCMP Custody in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT (Aug. 1, 2020)

A 34-year-old woman died in the RCMP custody in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, on July 31, 2021. It is reported that the woman was taken into custody for public intoxication around 10:30 PM and died shortly after midnight. Several people die each year during intoxication arrests by Canadian police.

Police are investigating police in this case. The investigation into the death will be investigated by Calgary police.

Devlin Kyle Neyando Identified as Victim of Police Shooting on January 2, 2019

Devlin Kyle Neyando has been identified as the 26-year-old man who was shot and killed by Edmonton police on January 2, 2019. Neyando was originally from Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories and had been living in Edmonton since his early teens. He was shot by police outside an apartment in the city’s Gold Bar neighborhood.

Coroner’s Inquest but Police Investigate Police in RCMP Custody Death Beverly Elanik in Inuvik

The Office of the Chief Coroner in Northwest Territories (NWT) has called an inquest into the death of Beverly Elanik, a 51-year-old mother of five children who died in RCMP custody in Inuvik in January 2016. RCMP assumed that Elanik was intoxicated when they arrested here. While being processed to leave the following day, police claim she went into what they are calling “medical distress.” She was taken by police to the Inuvik hospital, where died. Eileen Edwards, Elanik’s mother, has stated publicly that police from Medicine Hat, Alberta, told her that her daughter had suffered a seizure. The inquest into Elanik’s death is scheduled to start on September 26 at the Mackenzie Hotel in Inuvik.

RCMP in NWT have said that the Medicine Hat Police Service will be conducting an external review of the incident. There is no process for independent review in place in the territory.