At about 6:13 p.m. on July 21, Strathcona County Emergency Services were dispatched to a report of a fire inside a suite of the Emerald Hills apartments in Sherwood Park. Emergency Services personnel attended and attempted to reach the resident of the suite, the 58-year-old man, but were unable to contact him.
A second call for service in relation to the man was received at about 7:25 p.m., when police were dispatched to a Starbucks location in response to a report of a disturbance involving the man, who was in an intoxicated state. Police responded to the Starbucks. No arrest was made at that time.
Shortly thereafter, the man returned to his apartment building and attempted to gain entry into his suite. Building staff and a fire marshal informed him that he could not enter the suite due to the amount of smoke in the unit, and a confrontation occurred. Police were called and it was reported that the man had physically assaulted the fire marshal.
At about 7:54 p.m., police were dispatched again, this time in response to the reported assault. One member of the Strathcona County RCMP attended to the apartment building, observed the man outside the building and attempted to place him under arrest. While taking physical custody of the man, the officer took him to the ground, at which time the man’s head struck the ground, resulting in a laceration and bleeding. Police tended to the man and placed him in the recovery position until EMS arrived. The man was transported to hospital, where he was examined to ensure that he had not sustained any serious head injury, treated for the minor head laceration, and released about 12 hours later.
ASIRT’s investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, while the RCMP will maintain responsibility for the investigation into the man and his actions. With ASIRT’s investigation underway, no further information will be released at this time.
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.