No bias found in Calgary homicide investigation that saw wrongful charges laid against young brothers

Calgary police taped off part of a parking lot, located in the 1400 block of 52 Street N.E., following a shooting that left one man dead. (Nicole Di Donato/CTV News)

An independent review by the RCMP found a Calgary police investigation that resulted in the wrongful charging of a pair of brothers in relation to a homicide was "legally compliant, reasonable, ethical and carried out without inappropriate influence or bias."

The city's top cop has reported back to the Calgary Police Commission with the findings.

The charges were connected to the fatal shooting of Rami Hajj Ali in the community of Marlborough Park on Nov. 13, 2023.

Police said the 23-year-old was shot to death in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Trans Canada Centre, in the 1400 block of 52 Street N.E., just before 2 p.m.

Two additional people were injured and were taken to hospital.

A 14-year-old boy was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

An 18-year-old, the boy's brother, was also charged with one count of accessory to murder after the fact.

Crown prosecutors would later stay the charges against both.

At that time, Calgary Police Service Chief Const. Mark Neufeld offered a public apology to the brothers and their family.

Neufeld asked the RCMP to conduct the independent review.

The findings of that review, by way of Neufeld's report to the commission, are available online.

The report offers some details of what led to the charges:

"Initial witness information provided descriptions of the shooter, including clothing type and colour, skin colour and type and colour of the vehicle in which the shooter fled the scene," the report states.

"Minutes later, CPS located a vehicle and occupant matching this description in vicinity to the scene.

"A chain of events followed that included a vehicle pursuit through Calgary and ended with arrests in Southeast Calgary.

"The investigation continued over the subsequent days and homicide-related charges were ultimately laid against the two brothers with approval of the Crown."

The report also offers some details of what led to the charges being stayed:

"A video of the shooting surfaced online. Based on the video, it was determined the two brothers were not responsible for the shooting," the report states.

Eight days elapsed from the shooting to the staying of the charges.

"While most of the actions of the CPS were reasonable, understandable and repeatable, the review noted areas for improvement that fell short of best practices. It is possible that, if these best practices had been followed, it may have prevented the homicide-related charges, or identified the issue sooner," the report states.

"The review was clear, however, that most members of the review team felt they would have acted similarly to the CPS homicide team under similar circumstances."

Neufeld apologized again to the brothers.

"I want to underscore that we recognize the impact of this event on the two young men charged, their family and the community. I reiterate the public apology I have made in this regard. This event has also profoundly impacted CPS and we will be making positive improvements to our processes as a result," the report states.

Investigation into the homicide continues.