At 2:17 a.m., EPS officers attempted to stop the male as he was riding a bicycle without proper lighting equipment in the area of 93 Street and 82 Avenue. The male refused to stop and rode onto a pathway with the officers following on foot.
EPS’s Air 1 helicopter located the male along with the pursuing officers. Air 1 is equipped with a video system that recorded the pursuit. ASIRT obtained and fully reviewed the video. During the pursuit, the male can be seen riding a bike without the necessary equipment, which corroborates the officers reasoning for attempting to stop the male.
The video recording shows no use of force on the male by EPS officers. The male is followed by the officers, but they are not successful in detaining him. The male follows a path that ultimately places him beside the North Saskatchewan River. He is observed leaving his bicycle and running onto the ice pack along the riverbank. While officers are in the area, they are told by the Air 1 flight officer not to follow the male onto the ice due to the obvious danger. No officers are observed on the Air 1 video following him. Air 1 notifies the appropriate resources and maintains visual contact with the male. He is observed running quickly towards the center of the river before tragically slipping into the open water. The male disappeared below the surface of the water before appropriate resources could arrive.
The use of Air 1 video provided a full account of the circumstances that lead to the male falling into the water. Given there was no use of force, and no officers were near when the male ran onto the river ice, ASIRT’s mandate is fulfilled, and our investigation is concluded.
Photo 1: On the right of the photo the male is observed running onto the ice with an EPS officer present in the treed area in the left of the photo.
Photo 2: Officers remain on the pathway while the male, seen in the lower middle of the photo, continues to run towards the center of the North Saskatchewan River. By then, an EPS vehicle had arrived on the pathway and is present in the photo. The male continued to run for 17 more seconds before slipping into the water.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
This release is distributed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.