No charges for Edmonton police officer who fired service pistol at another officer: ASIRT

A city police officer will not face charges after firing his service pistol at another officer at an Edmonton Police Service (EPS) training centre in 2019.

While the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team’s (ASIRT) executive director believes there is reasonable grounds for a criminal offence and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) is of the opinion there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, it has been determined that it would not be in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution.

. . .

On June 7, 2019, members of the city police tactics training unit and firearms training unit were finishing up work at the EPS Constable William Nixon Memorial Training Centre, 12950 9 St. About 10 officers were in a “bullpen” area unwinding, with some of them bouncing lasers from SIRT laser training pistols off mirrors and onto each other, ASIRT said in a Monday news release.

The SIRT laser pistol is an imitation firearm paired with a vest and technology used for training. While it resembles a pistol, it does not have a functioning barrel or discharge ammunition. The SIRT pistol’s upper portion and trigger are bright red, compared to the Glock service pistol issued to officers which has an all matte black body.
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The Glock pistol involved in this officer’s shooting also had a red dot optic sight and weighs considerably more than the SIRT training pistol. Additionally, the SIRT pistol has a smooth grip, compared to the Glock’s textured grip. It also sits differently in the holster and drawing it would feel different from drawing a Glock.



The involved officer was on one side of the bullpen and another officer on the opposite side popped up and pointed the SIRT pistol at the first officer and “lasered” him before popping down behind some desks separating the two.

The involved officer then raised the Glock pistol, pulled the trigger and discharged a single live round in the direction of the other officer.

“A metal pinging sound was heard as the round struck a battering ram that had been placed on top of the other officer’s desktop shelving unit,” ASIRT said in the release.

No one was injured but there was significant damage to the battering ram.

. . .

The officer, however, declined to provide evidence or a statement to investigators.

“The involved officer deliberately pulled the trigger when he pointed and fired the firearm,” ASIRT said. “There is, however, an evidentiary gap regarding what the officer’s intent was, what the officer was thinking in that moment, (or) why the gun was fired.”

ASIRT determined there were three limited conclusions to make on what occurred: that the officer mistakenly raised his Glock pistol, believing it was the SIRT pistol; that he knowingly raised and fired his Glock but believed it was unloaded or loaded with non-lethal ammunition; or he knowingly pulled the Glock and intentionally fired the gun in the direction of the other officer.

Mentally ill Black man had obeyed police orders to lie on the ground before he was Tasered, report reveals

In the moments before Clive Mensah was Tasered by Peel Regional Police in the backyard of his own home, the 30-year-old mentally ill Black man had obeyed orders to lie face down on the ground and was not holding a weapon or other object at the time.

Minutes later, he would be dead — shocked a total of six times by officers.

The details are part of a post-mortem report that sheds new light on just what happened in the early hours of Nov. 20, 2019, after police were called to Mensah's neighbourhood in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, following multiple reports of a disturbance.

The report was prepared by the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service for the provincial coroner's office and shared exclusively with CBC News by lawyers for Mensah's family.

"He lay down without resisting, and they came and advanced on him, started Tasing him," Mensah's uncle William Owusu said in an interview with CBC News.

"Meanwhile, he didn't even punch anyone ... nothing whatsoever to threaten them. Why must they kill him?"

In the weeks ahead of the fatal encounter, Mensah had planned to visit Ghana to spend time with family, Owusu said. His father and mother had both died there in recent years, and he'd hoped to visit their graves.

"They were all happy to hear that he was able to come for a visit," Owusu said. "But it didn't happen that way."

3 OPP officers charged, others suspended amid towing industry probe

Three Ontario Provincial Police officers and another person have been charged, while four other officers have been suspended in connection with an ongoing investigation into the towing industry in the GTA, the force said Saturday.

In a news release, the OPP said its professional standards unit received an internal complaint in February of 2019 alleging members of the OPP Highway Safety Division were providing preferential treatment to tow operators within the Greater Toronto Area.

A joint investigation involving the force's criminal investigation branch commenced in October of last year into the situation.

Now, three OPP officers — all with more than 20 years of service — have been charged with secret commissions and breach of trust contrary to the Criminal Code. The officers are:

53-year-old Const. Simon Bridle, who is attached to the highway safety division's 407 detachment.
52-year-old Const. Mohammed Ali Hussain, with the Toronto detachment.
57-year-old Const. Bindo Showan, who is with the 407 detachment.

Bridle has also been charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration, police say.

Showan is currently out of the province, the OPP said, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The other officers were arrested earlier this week.

Black Montreal lawyer says protocol not followed during traffic stop, intends to file complaint

A lawyer is filing complaints with Montreal police (SPVM) and Quebec’s Human Rights Commission after a dramatic encounter with police during a traffic stop last Thursday, some of which was captured on video.

Kwadwo D. Yeboah, who is Black, told Global News he was driving in his wife’s car with his daughter through downtown Montreal when an officer pulled him over. Yeboah says the officer mistakenly believed he had been using his cellphone while driving, when it was actually his daughter who had picked up his ringing phone for him.

“I proceeded to give him my driver’s licence first, and then I searched for the registration,” Yeboah said. “Because it’s not the car I usually use, I didn’t know where it was.”

The officer suggested he check his email for digital proof of insurance, and then returned to his patrol car with Yeboah’s licence. After a few minutes, Yeboah found an email with proof of the car’s insurance, and he stepped out of his car to show the officer. That, he says, is when the situation escalated.

“The minute I got up, I just did one step, he grabbed my right hand, twisted it over my back, and said, ‘You’re under arrest for giving me a fake driver’s licence,'” Yeboah said, adding that he “was really shocked.”

Demands for inquiry grow after man accused of attempted murder of Montreal police officer has charges stayed


The abrupt stay of attempted murder and other charges against doctoral student Mamadi III Fara Camara Wednesday has prompted calls for an investigation by his lawyer, Quebec's opposition parties, Montreal officials and advocacy groups.

Camara, 31, had been accused of disarming and injuring a Montreal police officer with Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) during a routine traffic stop in Park Extension on Jan. 28, and spent six nights in detention before his sudden release Wednesday afternoon.

He had claimed innocence from the moment of his arrest, his lawyers said.

Now, questions are emerging about the circumstances of Camara's arrest, the length of his detention and the impact of the incident on his career and personal life.

In a statement issued late Thursday morning, the SPVM cited the "exceptional complexity" of the Jan. 28 event, and said evidence uncovered by investigators allowed them to conclude only yesterday that charges against Camara could not be supported.

On Thursday morning, all the opposition parties at Quebec's National Assembly demanded an independent inquiry into Camara's ordeal.

In a statement Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called for "clear answers about what happened in order to preserve public confidence in police work."

Lethbridge MLA targeted in unauthorized surveillance wins right to appeal officers' punishment

A former Alberta cabinet minister has scored a victory in her fight with the Lethbridge Police Service — and is calling for the firing of two officers.

Shannon Phillips, MLA for Lethbridge-West, won the right to appeal the way two officers were punished after they surveilled her without authorization more than three years ago, while she was the environment minister.

"I think ultimately … that these two officers ought to have been relieved of their duties," Phillips told CBC's Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.

"I do not believe that the LPS can maintain public trust and therefore public safety with these two fellas still, you know, patrolling the street."

In a Jan. 22 decision from Alberta's Law Enforcement Review Board, it ruled in Phillips's favour saying, "the process the [police] chief engaged in lacked procedural fairness, was prima facie tainted and flawed, and lacked transparency."

"Misconduct arising out of the appellant's complaint was effectively hidden from [Phillips]," the decision read in part.

Red Deer Mountie charged with assaulting suspect in detachment cells

A Red Deer Mountie has been charged with assault for allegedly striking a suspect inside a holding cell last spring.

Cpl. Kent McDiarmid is scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on March 24, RCMP said in a news release Wednesday.

The charge stems from an altercation inside the Red Deer detachment cells on March 2, 2020.

RCMP said McDiarmid struck a man who had been arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest.

The suspect was taken to hospital as a precaution and was later remanded into custody for a parole violation.

The investigation into McDiarmid's actions began later that month with an incident review. It was followed by code of conduct and criminal investigations.

McDiarmid, 39, has been suspended with pay since July 2020, RCMP said.

He has been a member of the RCMP for nearly 15 years.

Lethbridge police face second probe over alleged breach of NDP MLA’S privacy

Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating a series of potentially unauthorized database searches by Lethbridge police officers of NDP MLA Shannon Phillips’ private information.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team was directed to examine the circumstances surrounding those searches last Wednesday.

Two days earlier, the province’s director of law enforcement was notified that a request made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act revealed “a number of potentially unauthorized searches of the name and related files of an individual,” according to ASIRT.

The searches were conducted between January and November 2018.

Phillips, who represents Lethbridge West, said Tuesday that the alleged unlawful searches concerned her private information.

“Ms. Phillips is reviewing her legal options and may comment further at a later date,” her lawyer, Michael Bates, said in a statement.

Barrie police use excessive force to arrest skateboarder

Original FB video:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2135228 ... 8684254688

CTVNews clip:

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2133875