LPS officer cleared of wrongdoing in 2018 incident

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 18, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge Police Service officer acted properly during a 2018 incident involving the death of an individual, a report has now concluded.

The decision of the executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response team (ASIRT), Michael Ewenson, in the matter of the death of an individual during an interaction involving an officer on Oct. 3, 2018 has been released.

The ASIRT report states that on October 3, 2018, the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) contacted the Director of Law Enforcement (DLE) regarding an incident from earlier that day, involving an LPS officer that resulted in a male being transported to hospital. At that time, the nature of the injuries appeared to be minor, so ASIRT was not engaged.

The report explains that the suspect who had been previously involved in an altercation with another male, who was his partner, but who had a no contact condition with the suspect, approached an LPS officer who arrested his partner for breach of conditions, after swinging a bag with a large vodka bottle in it, which landed at the officer’s feet. When the suspect approached the officer in an aggressive fashion, he placed a hand on the suspect’s chest and pushed him away. The suspect lost his balance and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement and becoming unconscious. EMS was called and attended the scene.

On Oct. 4, 2018, the DLE was updated by LPS that the condition of the suspect had degraded, and he was now in grave medical condition. As a result of this new information, ASIRT was directed pursuant to Sec. 46.1 of the Police Act, to enter into an investigation into the circumstances surrounding what led to the suspect’s medical condition, who ultimately passed away on Oct. 8, 2018.

The report says that after an autopsy was performed on the suspect, based on the history, circumstances, and examination findings, the cause of death was certified as anoxic brain injury due to acute alcohol intoxication. Ground level fall, bronchopneumonia, and chronic alcohol misuse were considered contributing factors. As it is unknown the degree to which the push and fall contributed to the death, the manner of death was classified as undetermined.

Under Sec. 25 of the Criminal Code, a police officer is justified in doing what he or she is authorized to do and to use as much force as is reasonably necessary where he or she has reasonable grounds to do so. Force intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm is justified if the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the force was necessary to prevent the death or grievous bodily harm of the officer and/or any other person.

In this case, the report states that while the suspect did ultimately die, there is no evidence that the officer intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm to the suspect. As such, reliance on the use of deadly force is inapplicable in this case.

“After a thorough, independent and objective investigation into the conduct of the subject officer, it is my opinion that he was lawfully placed and acting properly in the execution of his duties. There is no evidence to support any inference that police engaged in any unlawful or unreasonable conduct that would give rise to an offence. The force used was necessary and reasonable in all the circumstances, notwithstanding the tragic outcome,” concluded Ewenson.

Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter

Comments are closed.