Calgary Police Shoot and Kill Patrick Robert Kimmel (45) (March 15, 2024)

Police in Calgary shot and killed a man, identified by neighbors as Patrick Robert Kimmel (45), on March 15, 2024, after what police say was “a 30-hour armed standoff.” It is reported that members of both the Calgary tactical unit and RCMP emergency response team fired their weapons. Witnesses reported “the sound of explosions and a volley of gunfire” after which Mr. Kimmel was dead. In audio from a video recorded by a neighbor and subsequently released to media, a tactical team member can be heard to say, “we’re going to have to amp things up a little bit.”

Police had been stationed outside a home in the 300 block of Penswood Way SE, in the Penbrooke Meadows neighborhood of southeast Calgary since 3:30 PM in the afternoon of March 14. Police say they were at the residence as part of an ongoing firearms investigation and people not involved in the investigation were able to leave the home before the man barricaded himself inside.

Police claim the man inside started shooting shortly after their arrival. Some nearby homes were evacuated, and a shelter-in-place order was called for the neighborhood. Some residents were not allowed to return to their homes for several hours and the Calgary Emergency Management Agency opened an information center at the Village Square Leisure Centre. Memorial Drive, a busy Calgary thoroughfare, was shut down between 52nd Street SE and 68th Street SE.

At least one police sniper with a scoped rifle entered a neighboring home. Another neighbor has reported that a CPS sniper “also set up a perch on his property.”

Neighbors who witnessed the police siege said they saw police flooding the basement of the residence through a window. They also said that police tried to smoke the victim out. Several windows in the residence were “blown out.” Neighbors reported that police set off several “flash bombs.”

Police claim the situation “escalated” at around 8:30 PM and members of the Calgary tactical unit and RCMP emergency response team fired their weapons killing the man. It has not been explained who or what “escalated” the situation, a key question given police suggestions about amping things up. No one in the community was hurt as a result of alleged gunfire from the man who was killed.

Police say there were intermittent negotiations with the man over the 30-hour period. It has not been reported what “escalated” the situation or why police decided to open fire and kill the man. Calgary Police Service (CPS) Chief Mark Neufeld suggested the man’s alleged “history of weapons offences” influence police actions during the incident.

Many questions remain of course. People are starting to ask what police meant by “amping things up” during the siege. There are also questions about what role police presumptions about the victim played in their response.

Calgary Police Shoot and Kill Man During High-Risk Arrest at Shopping Plaza (Oct. 18, 2023)

Calgary police shot and killed one man and injured another in the afternoon of October 18, 2023. Police claim there was an exchange of gunfire with one officer also being shot.

It is reported that at about 1 PM, police were executing a warrant at McKnight Village, in the 5700 block of Falsbridge Drive NE, in the northeastern community of Falconridge. Tactical unit members were deployed for the arrest. Police took a man into custody whose face and handcuffed hands were bloody.

The shooting occurred in a public space at the McKnight Village Shopping Centre, during a busy part of the day. Staff at some nearby businesses report being told to stay inside and lock their doors after the incident began. Pictures from the scene show a bullet hole in the front window of a barber shop. The side window of a grey SUV, which was parked in front of the business, was shattered.

Police have not stated why they attempted a high-risk takedown with the tactical unit involved at a busy plaza with many members of the public present.

Calgary police have killed at least four people so far this year.

Two People Shot and Killed by Calgary Police During Low Speed Car Chase (May 29, 2023)

Two people were shot and killed by Calgary police who opened fire on a cube van they believed to be stolen. The killings occurred during a vehicular pursuit on Memorial Drive.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating. It is reported that Calgary police claim a security guard at a private property in the 0 to 100 block of Manning Close NE reported three individuals believed to be “impaired” and “suspicious.”

Police believe the three fled in a stolen, five-ton cube van and struck a nearby building and barricade around 10:15 AM. They claim the van was then driven around the northeast in an “erratic manner.”

Police located the van on westbound Memorial Drive and several officers began following the vehicle while others worked to close nearby intersections.

The van allegedly entered eastbound Memorial Drive at the Edmonton Trail intersection.

Police claim they attempted a traffic stop unsuccessfully, but did say the van was being driven at low speed.

Shortly before 11 AM, a Calgary Police Service (CPS)officer discharged their service weapon. Two people inside the van were killed and a third was taken to hospital.

Calgary police state that the officer who fired their weapon has been with the CPS for 13 years.

Witnesses at the scene have stated that they saw police shoot through the driver and passenger windows of the van. They also report that they dropped to the ground in fear of being struck by stray bullets.

Nothing has been said publicly about any non-lethal attempts to stop a reportedly slow moving vehicle.

No one should be killed by police for alleged theft of any sort. This has the appearance of an extrajudicial execution for suspected property crime. One also has to ask why police were firing at passengers.

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.

Latjor Tuel Identified as Person Killed by Calgary Police (Feb. 19, 2022)

Latjor Tuel, a member of the Sudanese community in Calgary, has been identified by loved ones as the person shot and killed by Calgary police on February 19, 2022. People who knew him say he was upset and needed care, not police violence. Family members say he struggled with mental health issues. They say he was not an aggressive person.

Witnesses say Tuel was shot four times. Police also deployed a police dog against him before shooting him.

A large proportion of people killed by Canadian police each year are experiencing mental health crises and need care and support, not cops.

Calgary Police Shoot and Kill Man (Feb. 19, 2022)

Calgary police shot and killed a man in the late afternoon of February 19, 2022. People on the ground in Calgary report that the victim was a Black man. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating. They report that Calgary Police Service officers were called after 3:40 PM to the area of 45 Street and 17 Avenue SE.

Upon arrival police allege they encountered someone holding something they believed was a weapon. Witnesses report that police shot the man at least three times. A police dog was also deployed against the man.

Few details have been confirmed publicly at this time. Police claims have not been confirmed.

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.

Man Dies of Internal Bleeding After Forcible Arrest by Calgary Police (July 10, 2021)

A man died in Foothills Hospital on July 10, 2021, days after Calgary police threw him to the ground during on arrest. According to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), Calgary Police Service officers responded to a complaint of “a man seated in a Ford truck” and “reported to be acting strangely” on the 300 block of Abalone Place NE, at about 9:40 PM on July 8.

Police arrived and spotted a man seated in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle on the 100 block of Abalone Way. Police claimed to notice “signs of intoxication” and tested the man on a roadside screening device, which gave a “Fail” reading. Following the test, some type of dispute arose between police and the man, and he was then advised that he was under arrest for impaired driving. During the arrest police became physical with the man and used force to take him to the ground where he was handcuffed.

Immediately following his arrest, the man alerted police to pain in his ribs. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived at the scene. The man was driven to his residence and released after being served with a driving suspension under the Immediate Roadside Sanctions (IRS) program.

Later that same evening, the man went to Peter Lougheed Hospital, where it was determined that he was suffering from internal bleeding. He was later transported to Foothills Hospital and admitted. The man died there on July 10.

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.