Unarmed suspect tackled, restrained by Calgary police, ASIRT says

A suspect who died while in police custody earlier this month was unarmed when he was tackled and punched by a group of Calgary officers, the province's police watchdog said Wednesday.

In its findings, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said police were called to the Carriage House Inn at 12:56 a.m. on Sept. 17 to attend to "an unwanted person" in the lobby.

It said a lone police officer arrived to find the man standing near the check-in desk and their interaction was captured on a body-worn camera.

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The suspect was not armed and his hands were in "full view," ASIRT said.

The officer then ordered the man to leave the hotel, but it appeared the suspect was in some sort of distress.

"The male continues to stand at his location in the lobby and act in a confused fashion, such as attempting to pick up items off the floor that were clearly non-existent," ASIRT said.

After speaking with the man for about 30 seconds, the officer drew his conducted energy weapon (CEW) and pointed it at the man, ordering him to leave.

At that point, the suspect raised his hands and told the officer he would leave, along with pleading with the officer "not to shoot him," ASIRT said.

"The male is walking slowly towards the main door with his hands raised while stating to the officer, 'I don’t want to die.' The lone officer tells the male to stop talking and continues to point the weapon at him."

As the suspect approached the main doors, two more police officers arrive at the hotel, making the man stop walking.

The first officer then holstered his weapon and attempted to grab the male.

"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.

"The male physically resists being grabbed and then is tackled by (the second officer), who then punches the male in the head while both are on the ground."

The other officers fired their CEWs at the suspect and soon all three were involved in the fight to restrain the male, ASIRT said.

About three-and-a-half minutes later, the man was detained on the floor, held by handcuffs and leg restraints.

ASIRT said the suspect was bleeding from the mouth and vomited onto the floor, at which point officers put a spit mask onto him.

EMS attended and administered a sedative to the suspect seven minutes after he was handcuffed, but three minutes later, as he was still left face down, it was noted he was unresponsive.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

No further details are being provided and ASIRT is now continuing its investigation into the use of force by the officers.

On Wednesday, following a Calgary Police Commission meeting, police chief Mark Neufeld briefly spoke with media about the incident.

He said body-worn cameras show more than ever, and that could be particularly valuable in ASIRT's investigation.

"We welcome the oversight, we welcome the transparency and obviously, we're co-operating fully with the investigation, but I would just ask folks to suspend judgment and let the investigation take its course," he said.

"It's a very complex situation. There's layers to this."

Asked, he said the officers involved are not currently working the street.

"When there's a critical incident similar to this one, all officers are put on a mandatory 30-day administrative leave."

"All three of the officers that were involved in this particular case are off on that leave now."