Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a man following an arrest by Calgary police on July 11. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) says officers responded to reports of a man entering yards in the community of Abbeydale and behaving erratically. Police also received a report that a man had entered a home and attempted to stab someone inside. ASIRT says officers located a man believed to be connected to the calls and attempted to arrest him. During the arrest, officers used a conducted energy weapon. The man then fell into a narrow space between a garage and a fence in a side yard. Police took the man into custody and moved him to a nearby backyard. He was conscious and speaking, and briefly resisted while being handcuffed, according to the agency. ASIRT says officers called EMS, but the man became unresponsive a short time later. Officers began CPR before paramedics transported him to hospital, where he later died. The agency is investigating the incident as a Level 1 matter, which includes cases involving serious injury or death, or sensitive concerns about an officer’s actions.
