Calgary-based Black advocacy group calls for inquiry into Latjor Tuel's death

The Calgary Black Chamber says the shooting death of Latjor Tuel on Feb. 19, 2022 shows that police training and protocols in Alberta are flawed.

A group that supports Black students, professionals and entrepreneurs in Calgary is calling for a "transparent" inquiry into the death of Latjor Tuel at the hands of the Calgary Police Service.

Calgary Black Chambers (CBC) says the 41-year-old's death is "the latest in a series of disturbing incidents" and it might not have happened if certain policies were in place.

The group also said that the victims of lethal force deployed by police officers are often Black, people of colour or those who are suffering from mental distress.

Tuel died at the scene of a police incident in southeast Calgary on Feb. 19. According to police, officers were responding to reports of a man with a weapon.

When they arrived, they encountered Tuel, who was holding a stick and a knife. After an interaction with the officers, police say the situation escalated and they deployed "less-lethal" ordinance in an attempt to incapacitate him.

Tuel ended up charging at a police dog and his handler and was fatally shot as a result.

The CBC says while Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld contended the responding officers were following protocol, police said the same following other incidents.

"Similar statements were issued by the Calgary Police Service, when Godfred Addai-Nyamekye was assaulted in 2013 and Anthony Heffernan was killed in 2015 by police," the group said in a release.

"We believe that there is a fundamental issue with the protocols used by the police that continue to result in death and injury of our fellow citizens."

As a result, the CBC is calling for a public inquiry into the training and protocols used by police throughout Alberta, not just in Calgary.

While the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is looking into the fatal shooting, the CBC says the independent inquiry will move "beyond the scope" of that investigation.

"This is the only way to ensure that there is real, systematic change in how policing is conducted in our province," the CBC said.

The CPS, in response to a request for a statement on the call for an inquiry, said it understood the concerns and the fact that questions would be asked in relation to the incident.

"These are some of the issues that will be taken into consideration during both the ASIRT investigation and the independent Fatality Inquiry," the service said in an emailed statement.

Furthermore, the CPS says it conducted its own review into the use of force by police in 2018, headed by a retired Calgary judge.

"That report resulted in 86 recommendations, all of which were accepted or accepted in principal."