Understanding police welfare checks in wake of suspected CO poisoning in Calgary

Tragedy for a family in Calgary's northeast just weeks before Christmas is shedding light on the restrictions police face when conducting welfare checks.

A man was found dead in a Taradale home on Tuesday, which was discovered to have very high levels of carbon monoxide, but there are questions as to why police didn't enter the home when they were called the day before.

"I think people will say, 'Well, why didn't they go in right away?' and doing all that and the reality is the police cannot go into a home without cause," said Doug King, a professor of justice studies at Mount Royal University.

According to emergency crews, a family member called 911 on Tuesday afternoon, and when emergency crews arrived, they discovered high levels of carbon monoxide.

Carol Henke with the Calgary Fire Department said the levels read 90 parts per million upstairs and over 270 parts per million in the basement.

The man was found dead in the furnace room.

"If that carbon monoxide had been building up in that home even for 24 hours at those numbers, it's very, very dangerous," Henke said.

Three other people were taken to hospital, which, according to neighbours, included a woman who worked at a nearby daycare.

They tell CTV the daycare called police on Monday when she didn't show up to work.

Another neighbour said the deceased's mother in Ontario had also tried to contact her son for days and alerted police.

Calgary police confirm they did do a welfare check on Monday but were unable to contact the residents.

"Officers made numerous attempts to contact the occupants of the home through door knocks, phone calls and neighbourhood inquiries, but were unable to make contact with the residents inside the home. As there were no immediate or clear signs of distress or danger, officers did not have legal or reasonable grounds to forcibly enter the residence," the service said in a statement.

"Officers regularly encounter dynamic situations, including welfare checks, each with unique circumstances. As is standard with all welfare checks, our members act based on the information provided by the caller, the past history of the individual(s), the location involved and any information that is available to members at the time."

Canadians are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms from unreasonable search and seizure.

King said while in hindsight it might have been beneficial to enter the home, police need immediate or clear signs of an emergency, such as someone calling out for help.

"I think you and I are pretty thankful the police don't come barging into our homes when we haven’t talked to some of our friends for a while," he said.

"We've got to cut them some slack here. They did what they were trained to do and it turned out to have a really tragic end."

The medical examiner still needs to confirm the exact cause of the man's death but it has been deemed non-criminal by police.

The death also acts as a tragic reminder about the importance of working CO detectors.

Fire crews said there were no visible detectors found at the Taradale home.

They urge people not only to ensure they have detectors but to check them regularly to ensure they are working.