Jon Wells did equine therapy for clients at the Kainai Transition Centre Society. ‘We really loved Jon here,’ said Naomi Shade
Jon Wells will be missed by those he worked alongside and helped treat at a recovery centre in southern Alberta.
Alberta’s police watchdog said Wednesday that Wells repeatedly told officers he did not want to die, before he was tackled, punched and Tased.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), citing evidence from police-worn body cameras, said officers applied “various uses of force” on the unarmed Wells inside the Carriage House Hotel.
Naomi Shade, program co-ordinator at Kainai Transition Centre Society, started working with Wells in 2024 when he began to run an equine therapy program for clients at the centre, along with Shade, who helped with the program.
“About 10 years ago, him and my husband took RCIA together to become Catholic and he’s a really sweet man,” said Shade.
“Jon was just an outstanding individual . . . we really love Jon here,” Naomi said.
She said they spoke with Jon two or three weeks ago, and he was planning to work with them again. They are not moving forward with the program after Jon’s death.
‘They really loved Jon’
“He was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met and we’ve just been feeling really terrible about his passing,” said Naomi.
Describing Wells as “very professional,” she said he was great with clients, aged anywhere from 18 to 60.
“He would always text me and give me feedback from all of their sessions,” said Naomi.
“They had a really great program,” she said. “They talk a lot about our culture and it was very Blackfoot cultural based — and that’s what we liked about it because they kind of give a history of our relationship with horses.”
One client of Jon’s in particular had disabilities and was scared of horses.
“I remember he came back and he was showing me a video of him actually riding a horse and Jon was leading,” Naomi said. “He was just like, ‘Jon helped me ride my horse.’ ”
She said clients looked forward to sessions with Wells.
“Everybody would be all excited about it, they really liked it. They really loved Jon.”
Patty Shade, Naomi’s relative who also knew Jon, spoke about his motivations for helping people: “We all have family members who struggle with addictions and I think that was his motivation, seeing how our community was really struggling with the opioid crisis.
“I think that was his (motivation); give back to the community . . . trying to help people in recovery. But he was very sincere and he always wanted to help people.”
Patty referred to the program not moving forward as a “big gap” that’s missing, for their clients and the community.
Naomi was shocked to hear Wells had died, and said many clients have been asking about it.
“I don’t know what to say when it comes to something like that because it is really disheartening,” she said. “I didn’t know the full circumstances until I read about it this morning and it just really bothered me.”
‘Extremely saddened’
Lino Savino is general manager at the Carriage House Hotel.
He said Wells was not a hotel guest or a patron at any of the property’s venues that day.
“The Carriage House and myself were extremely saddened by the result of the situation and how it turned out and our hearts go out to the family and the community,” he said.
With many businesses on the corner of 90th Avenue and MacLeod Trail, Savino doesn’t know where Wells might have come from.
Savino said Wells wandered into the lobby and didn’t make it any farther into the hotel.
“He came in right off the street, I believe and made some of our front desk and some of our guests feel uncomfortable as his actions were pretty erratic,” he said. “When I mean erratic, it wasn’t normal behaviour. We’re not sure if he was under the influence or not.”
Staff called CPS to have Wells removed from the property after he refused to leave, which is normal protocol, according to Savino.
ASIRT said the first officer to arrive ordered Wells to leave the lobby but he remained in place, acting in a “confused fashion.”
The officer soon after pointed a stun gun at Wells and again ordered him to leave.
“I don’t want to die,” Wells told the officer while walking, hands raised, toward the main door.
A 3½-minute altercation ensued after two other officers arrived and the first officer tried to grab Wells.
“At no point during the interaction had the male been identified, nor was he ever told he was being detained or under arrest,” ASIRT said.
‘We just look forward to finding out the truth’
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong, one of two city councillors on the Calgary Police Commission, said all members of council are deeply concerned, while also aware of the implication on Wells and his family.
“Like all Calgarians, we (are) very devastated to hear that a Calgarian lost his life as part of a police action,” Wong said Thursday. “But we’re waiting to hear exactly from the police and from ASIRT as to the particular details.”
From a policing perspective, Wong hopes there is no undue bias or behaviour in the incident.
“I’m sure that members of service, and not only the officer(s) attending, but all the members of service are probably beside themselves right now as to public perception of what policing is all about.
He said the amount of detailed information ASIRT released so early on in its investigation was unusual.
“I don’t know the reasons for being so open and transparent about it, especially when the research hasn’t been has been concluded yet,” he said.
“I don’t think this is something that anybody anticipated and we just look forward to finding out the truth.”