The Alberta Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said Monday no charges will be laid against the Calgary police officer who fatally shot Anthony Heffernan in a Super 8 Hotel room last year.
Heffernan, 27, was shot four times – twice in the head, once in the neck and once in the upper torso – by one of four officers who entered his room on March 16, 2015.
Police were called to the hotel in the 3000 block of Barlow Trail N.E. at around 3 p.m. to check on the welfare of a guest.
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According to ASIRT, Heffernan was supposed to check out that morning, but remained locked in his room and didn’t respond to requests from staff that he leave.
Police forced their way into Heffernan’s hotel room. According to ASIRT, the 27-year-old was holding a small insulin syringe in one hand and a lighter in the other.
“All of the witness officers stated concerns about the possibility that the syringe might be contaminated and that they might get stabbed or stuck by it,” ASIRT said in a news release.
Although officers told Heffernan to drop the syringe, ASIRT indicated he remained “unresponsive, non-communicative, and seemingly unaware.”
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One officer fired a Conducted Energy Weapon (commonly known as a stun gun) at Heffernan “momentarily incapacitating him,” and causing him to fall backwards onto a bed. The officer then discharged his stun gun a second time.
According to ASIRT, while on the bed, Heffernan pulled at the wires. The lighter and the syringe remained clutched in his hands.
Two out of the three officers holstered their weapons and moved in to grab him, but he managed to dislodge the wires.
Still holding the lighter and syringe, Heffernan then either moved forward towards the officers or lunged in their direction.
It was at that time, when one officer removed his stun gun and fired it at Heffernan, at the same time as another officer fired his service gun six times.
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ASIRT said 72 seconds passed from the point when police entered the room to the time when shots were fired.
An autopsy found “significant levels” of cocaine in Heffernan’s system, and multiple puncture marks on his upper and lower limbs.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) reviewed the case, and determined that there was “was no reasonable likelihood of conviction and the recommendation was that no charges be laid against the subject officer.”
“This was a very difficult case,” ASIRT said.
“This finding in no way diminishes the sad fact that a family has lost their loved one. On behalf of ASIRT, the Executive Director extends condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Heffernan in relation to this tragic event.”
‘There is no justice’: Heffernan family
The Heffernan family spoke out after the decision was released, saying “there is no justice” in the case.
“I think if they won’t prosecute an officer in this case, we don’t believe that an officer will ever be held responsible, for any case,” said Anthony’s brother, Grant Heffernan.
“We’ve had a young man murdered by Calgary police and it’s been swept under the rug,” Anthony’s father, Patrick Heffernan said Monday.
“There is no justice in this case. Anyone else that comes in contact with the police is at tremendous risk.”
“No matter the outcome of this case, it does not diminish that this is an incident that could have been handled differently,” Hughson said. She noted the matter will proceed to a fatality inquiry to see what, if anything, could have been done differently to prevent the young man’s death.
The fatality inquiry could take up to a year to complete. It could make recommendations for changes in police practice, but won’t be disciplinary in nature.
The Heffernan family is looking at the possibility of launching an appeal or a civil suit. They have been consulting with Tom Engel, an Edmonton lawyer who has filed more police complaints than any other lawyer in the province.
He said they will wait to see what action Calgary police take before they make any decisions on how to proceed.
Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin said he empathized with the family’s grief.
“The family lost a son,” he said. “I completely empathize with their grief and their level of concern with this.
“We’re all parents–no one would want to lose a son to an encounter with law enforcement…So I completely sympathize with where they’re at and hope that through time we will work through this together.”
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“We’re still subject to a Police Act investigation, so we’ll look at it from that standpoint as well,” Chaffin said. “We have jurisdiction to retain that investigation – make sure that if there’s public and or service issues involved we’ll investigate that thoroughly.”
“The criminal standard wasn’t met in terms of going to go prosecution, but there’s other avenues we have to look at.”
– With files from Sarah Offin
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