Man (49) Dies in Edmonton Police Custody After IntoxicationArrest (Jan. 5, 2024)

A 49-year-old man died in Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Custody on January 5, 2024. EPS claim they arrested the mab after officers responded to “trouble with person” reports at an apartment building near 112 Avenue and 80 Street. EPS assumed the man was “intoxicated” and he was taken into custody and transported to the EPS Detainee Management Unit (DMU).

EPS claim the man suffered a “medical event” upon arrival at the DMU. He was pronounced dead at the scene. EPS say the director of law enforcement was notified and has directed that the investigation into the death remain with EPS.

If true this is troubling as investigations into in-custody deaths should be carried out by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT). No explanation has been given for this at present.

Intoxication arrests are often deadly. The practice should be ended immediately.

Vancouver Police Jail Guard Suspended Over May 2023 Death in Custody

A Vancouver police jail guard has been suspended with pay over the death of a man in custody in May 2023.

The man had been arrested on April 30, and was found in medical distress in a cell on May 1. He was transported to hospital and died sometime later.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) has been notified of the death and will conclude an investigation once the Independent Investigations Office IIO concludes its investigation.

The crucial details of the man’s arrest, his time in detention, the nature of his medical distress, and the date and time of his death have not been provided by the VPD. Police have not said what actions led to the suspension of the Vancouver jail guard.

This is another example of police controlling the flow of information when they kill.

SIU Open Investigation into 2010 Police-Involved Death in Thunder Bay

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced on July 22, 2010 that they have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 50-year-old man in 2010, after receiving a report from the Thunder Bay Police Service on July 20.

The SIU report the following information:

At approximately 1:48 AM on April 1, 2010, officers arrived at the Royal Edwards Arms Building on South May Street and two officers removed the man from the building and left him out front. At 2:18 AM, an officer in a second police vehicle was flagged down regarding a man on the ground in medical distress. The man was taken to hospital in an ambulance and was pronounced dead at 2:59 AM.

The SIU have assigned two investigators to examine the case.

There are many questions here. Why did it take eleven years for Thunder Bay police to bring this to the SIU? What have they done with evidence and information in the intervening years?

The Thunder Bay Police Service have been subjects of recent inquiries into racism within the force and violence targeting Indigenous people.

Constable Jeremy Son Identified as Cop Who Killed Chantel Moore

The Edmundston, New Brunswick, police officer who shot and killed Chantel Moore in 2020 has been identified as Constable Jeremy Son in documents obtained by CBC News. Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman from Tlaoquiaht First Nation, was shot multiple times and killed in the early morning of June 4 during a police “wellness check.” Moore suffered three shots to the back and two to the chest, and her leg was broken. Constable Son was removed from active duty for three weeks before he was put back on the job in an administrative role.

An investigation into the killing has been carried out by Quebec’s police oversight agency, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), but the results have not been released publicly. The BEI is not an independent body and relies on police forces to carry out their investigations.

Chantel Moore’s family has called for a public inquiry into systemic racism in policing in Canada. Despite calls from numerous Indigenous leaders, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs refused to hold a public inquiry into systemic racism in the province’s justice system.

Killer Cop Bernie Herman, Charged with Murdering Braden Herman, Resigns From RCMP

Corporal Bernie Herman, the long serving RCMP officers charged with murdering 26-year-old Braden Herman (no relation), of Clearwater River Dene Nation, on May 11, 2021, in Prince Albert, has resigned. The RCMP claim in a statement that they were about to suspend Corporal Herman when he submitted his resignation last week.

The 53-year-old Herman, who had 32 years on the force, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the killing. Prince Albert have reported that the men knew each other for several years. They claim that Bernie Herman finished his shift with the RCMP traffic unit and, while still in uniform, killed Baden Herman in a wooded area of Little Red River Park in Prince Albert. He then phoned a colleague.

Herman was not present for a court appearance on May 26. The case was adjourned to June 9.

RCMP Officer Bernie Herman Makes First Court Appearance for Murder of Braden Herman

Bernie Herman, an RCMP officer with 32 years with the force, made his first court appearance on first-degree murder charges in the killing of 26-year-old Braden Herman of Clearwater River Dene Nation. Braden Herman’s body was founded in a wooded area of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on May 12 and the RCMP officer was arrested the next day.

Braden Herman’s sister, DeeDee Herman, has alleged publicly that her brother had been harassed by officer Herman for the last two years. She has also said that the long serving RCMP officer used his police powers to carry out the harassment.

The RCMP has acknowledged that Bernie Herman was a corporal with the traffic services unit. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 26.

Killer Cops Randy Stenger and Jessica Brown Now Charged with Manslaughter

The two RCMP officers who were charged in the shooting and killing and Clayton Crawford in 2018 have been charged with manslaughter. The killer cops, with the Whitecourt RCMP detachment in northern Alberta, had been arrested on June 5 and originally charged with one count each of criminal negligence causing death. Thirty-one-year-old Clayton Crawford was killed by multiple gunshot wounds while inside a car on July 3, 2018.

According to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in the province, the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service transferred responsibility for the prosecution to the Ontario Ministry of Attorney General. ASIRT reports:

“After consultation with the Ontario Crown, on Sept. 3, 2020, a replacement information was sworn jointly charging both officers with the offence of manslaughter. The original information charging both officers with criminal negligence causing death was withdrawn at the request of the Crown.”

Crawford had fled an attack on the residence at which he was staying and was sleeping in a vehicle at a rest stop when police approached him. ASIRT reports that the officers knew they only looking for a witness or possible victim when they found the man sleeping in the vehicle. Despite this, according to ASIRT, both officers fired their weapons, one fired a service pistol while the other fired a carbine rifle, killing Crawford.

According to ASIRT executive director Susan Hughson, this is the first time in the agency’s history that police shooting and killing someone has led to criminal charges against officers.

Inuit Artist Attachie Ashoona Identified as Person Killed by Nunavut RCMP (Feb. 26, 2020)

Attachie Ashoona, a 38-year-old Inuit artist has been identified as the person killed by Nunavut RCMP on February 26, 2020 in Kinngait, Nunavut. This information has come out as an investigation into the RCMP by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has concluded that the killer cops should not be criminally charged.

This is clearly a case of police investigating police, with the predictable outcome. Two Ottawa police investigators from the homicide unit along with two forensic officers were deployed to Kinngait. They report interviewing five RCMP officers as well as 10 civilian witnesses.

The cop “investigation” of cops concluded that “the RCMP officer’s use of lethal force did not exceed the use of force necessary to control the situation” According to what police define as necessary, not the community.

The community has expressed frustration over the fact that this investigation has occurred with only minimal information made public. No other details of the police killing have been released to the community. In fact, the initial reports did not even say that someone had been killed, only that there was “an RCMP-related incident.” It has since come out that Attachie Ashoona was shot by an RCMP officer.

Clive Mensah Identified as Man Killed by Peel Police in November 2019

Clive Mensah, a 30-year-old Black man, has been identified as the person killed by Peel Regional Police in Mississauga, Ontario, on November 20, 2019. Mr. Mensah’s family came forward publicly with this information on July 21, 2020, partly inspired by the growing attention to police killings of Black and Indigenous people in Canada and the Black Lives Matter movement. Those mobilizations have brought a focus on police killings of people experiencing mental health crises or as part of police “wellness checks” (which are not about wellness at all).

They report that since their loved one’s killing in 2019, they have heard almost nothing from investigators with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). They are desperate for answers about why police killed their family member, who was unarmed and known to struggle with mental health issues.

Hospital records from the killing show that Mensah was “Tased approximately six times.” He was found lying on the ground and handcuffed by paramedics. The hospital report also records that paramedics faced a delay in reaching the victim because “police cruisers blocked roadway to scene.” Paramedics reportedly had to park between 15 to 18 meters away from where Mr. Mensah lay.

Here was the initial Killer Cops Canada report at the time:

“A 30-year-old man has died after being tasered by Peel Regional Police in Mississauga, Ontario (Greater Toronto Area), during an aggressive arrest.

According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the agency that investigates cases of police harm to civilians in Ontario, Peel Regional Police say they were called to Runningbrook Drive in Mississauga at around 3:15 AM on report of a “suspicious male causing a disturbance.” Officers allegedly encountered the man in the backyard of a residence and, according to the SIU, some type of “struggle ensued.”

SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon reports: “As part of the struggle, several use-of-force options were used, including the deployment of a conducted energy weapon.” The man was taken into custody and soon after lost consciousness. According to Hudon, the victim was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly around 4:19 AM.

No other details have yet been released publicly, including the nature of force or compliance measures used by police against the victim during the fatal encounter and arrest.

This is the second death in Mississauga in months involving conducted energy weapons. The SIU is still investigating the death of a 34-year-old man when police used a stun gun against him on September 10, 2019. These are not “non-lethal” weapons as has been shown in numerous cases.”

No Charges Against Surrey RCMP for Killing Nona McEwan and Randy Crosson

Once again killer cops get off. The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO), the agency that examines cases of police harm to civilians in British Columbia, has announced that it will not be recommending charges against the RCMP officers who shot and killed Nona McEwan and Randy Crosson on March 29, 2019 in a home on the 13300 block of 98A Street in Surrey. The decision was made public on April 1, 2020. Four officers were directly involved in the killings. None have been named publicly. The IIO reports that the officers fired over forty rounds, in close quarters. Forty.

Police described the context of the killings as a “hostage taking.” For over a month after the killings, RCMP publicly implied that Randy Crosson had killed Nona McEwan.

When asked directly in 2019 if he could say conclusively that a police bullet did not hit Nona McEwan, the Surrey Now-Leader reported that Integrated Homicide Investigation Team spokesperson Corporal Frank Jang replied:

“No, I mean that’s all part of the investigation that’s happening now. There will be updates coming forth from the IIO but all those details, the exact mechanism, entries, where the shots came from, that’s all going to be part of the investigation. I can’t comment further because it’s still ongoing.”

Not long afterward the lie was put to the police portrayal when the IIO reported that RCMP had shot and killed both McEwan and Crosson. Clearly, officers at the scene, and IHIT member Jang must have known that police had done the shooting. One might also figure that they knew this as they made statements over a month that posed Crosson as potentially the killer.

The IIO concluded that Crosson “provoked an armed response from police aimed at saving her.” A rather incredible statement given that firing at McEwan, striking, and killing her can in no way credibly be described as a response aimed at “saving her.”

The IIO, which is not a truly independent body and has had former officers among its members as well as relying on police for training, interviewed 38 witness police officers to determine that none of the four officers directly involved committed any criminal offense. Any criminal offense. Not at all surprising given that killer cops are virtually never held anywhere near accountable when they kill in Canada.