A retired judge has been appointed to oversee a review of the province’s police watchdog and Crown prosecution service, the Alberta government announced on Thursday.
Alberta Justice spokeswoman Heather Jenkins said former Appeal Court justice Peter Martin was hired in November 2024 to conduct the review.
She said the ministry is to review Martin’s report once it’s complete and consider any recommendations.
The review is to examine current policies and practices with the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) and prosecution service, and look at findings from other jurisdictions.
It comes after recent decisions by the watchdog found officers had committed offenses, but the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) didn’t pursue criminal charges.
One such case prompted protests.
Pacey Dumas was left with life-altering injuries following a December 2020 incident involving Edmonton police.
ASIRT called the actions of the officer, Const. Ben Todd, unreasonable hasty and violent, and said there were reasonable grounds to believe Todd had committed a criminal offence.
ASIRT recommended charges but the ACPS declined to move forward with the case, saying it felt would not have a reasonable chance of conviction.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery announced last year he planned to initiate the review.
— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News