Alberta’s police watchdog has determined there was no use of force in a summer 2017 incident involving a member of the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS).
On Aug. 15, 2017, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) began to investigate after a 41-year-old man suffered serious injuries during an encounter with police.
Just after midnight that morning, officers had been called to investigate a break-and-enter at the Centre Village Liquor store on 12 Street North.
No suspect was found at the scene, but a man matching his description from surveillance video was found a short time later on the Stafford Drive overpass. The man had blood on his hands and shirt, according to ASIRT. The suspect was then approached by the LPS member, who asked where the blood had come from.
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“The man said he had been at a safe injection site, but that explanation didn’t seem plausible to the officer,” ASIRT said in its Wednesday statement.
ASIRT said the man then abruptly ran away and jumped over a railing on the southwest side of the bridge, “falling approximately 15 to 17 feet to a steep concrete embankment below.”
The man suffered a broken foot and vertebral compression fracture and required surgery to repair his foot injury, ASIRT said.
“The man voluntarily spoke with ASIRT investigators following the incident and advised that the officer never touched him, did not cause his injuries, and that the injuries were sustained when he jumped from the bridge,” the agency said.
ASIRT added that after fully reviewing the case, there were no reasonable grounds, or even suspicion, that the officer had committed an offence.
“The officer was lawfully placed, acting in the lawful execution of his duties, and did nothing improper,” ASIRT said.
LPS Acting Chief Scott Woods emphasized the importance of ASIRT’s independent investigation in his response to the report and praised the member in question.
“From the onset of the investigation, the officer involved has had the full support and confidence of the service. He acted appropriately and with the utmost professionalism.”