“The use of the various non-lethal weapons by the subject officers to try and incapacitate the affected person at the door were proportionate to (his) actions.”
Warning: this story deals with suicide. If you need help, the AHS Mental Health Help Line can be reached at 1-877-303-2642. The Canada Suicide Prevention Service can be contacted at 1-833-456-4566. The Suicide Crisis Helpline can be reached at9-8-8.
The man ran for the balcony when the officers breached the door. One officer fired a round from an ARWEN baton launcher, which struck the victim moments before he tripped and fell through the flimsy railing.
“That an ARWEN round would hit the affected person, and the affected person would then possibly trip on items on the patio, and then also fall through the (guardrail) spindles is not foreseeable whatsoever,” ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson wrote.
The deceased man, 24, broke into the Callingwood on 170th Apartments just after 2:30 a.m. on May 14, 2020. He and another man smashed the glass entryway with rocks, then made their way to the suite belonging to his ex-girlfriend, who was inside with a friend and her child.
The man had been drinking and told the women he was going to kill them. He entered the apartment and attacked his ex with a butter knife heated on the stove. One of the women called the police and left the line open as the violence ensued. The man then grabbed a steak knife and began stabbing himself in the chest near his heart. The other woman in the suite told ASIRT the man pointed a revolver at them, though the report makes no further reference to the alleged gun. She also said the child — who had been tucked into bed — came out of his bedroom, which did nothing to moderate the man’s behaviour.
When police arrived, the man barricaded the door with his body. Attempts to kick the door open initially failed, leading the officers to fire a stun gun and pepper spray through partially open entry.
Police eventually forced their way in after the man was hit with a Taser barb. He made for the balcony, was hit with the Arwen round, and within seconds lay crumpled on the ground four storeys below.
Police handcuffed the man before paramedics arrived. He died in hospital two days later.
Ewenson said it is likely the man tripped on a garbage bag on the balcony and fell through the railing — discounting the possibility he deliberately jumped.
‘Required to act’
Section 25 of the Criminal Code allows police officers to use as much force as is “reasonably necessary” in carrying out their duties. If the force is enough to cause serious injury or death, the officer must believe it is “necessary for the self-preservation of the officer or preservation of anyone under (their) protection,” Ewenson wrote.
“Based on the duty officers have to preserve life, they were required to act,” he said. “The uses of force at the times they occurred were reasonably necessary to try and gain control of affected person.”
“It was imperative to stop (the man) from either continuing to stab himself or from attacking (the women). The use of the various non-lethal weapons by the subject officers to try and incapacitate the affected person at the door were proportionate to (his) actions.”
None of the officers involved participated in interviews with ASIRT, which Ewenson noted is the right of any person accused of a crime.