The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the circumstances that led to a suspect suffering a serious injury to his face after a police chase in the Edmonton area late last month.
On July 25, Edmonton police and the Air 1 police helicopter began following what was believed to be a stolen vehicle. They tracked the vehicle outside the city limits and into Strathcona County, where RCMP also became involved.
Members of the RCMP used a spike belt to try to stop the vehicle, which continued to drive on and off the road, hitting things before coming to a stop.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested. It was later determined that the 21-year-old suffered an orbital bone fracture, ASIRT said in a media release Wednesday morning.
ASIRT’s investigation will focus on the actions of police, while the EPS and RCMP will focus on the actions of the 21-year-old.
ASIRT is brought in to investigate any time an incident involving Alberta’s police results in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
ASIRT said no further information will be released until its investigation is complete.