Family ‘outraged’ after police watchdog recommends no charges in in-custody death

Addison Hartzler of Grande Prairie, Alta., died while in police custody. No charges are being recommended the Alberta's police watchdog. (Supplied)

The family of a man who died in custody says they are outraged by the decision to not recommend charges by Alberta’s police watchdog.

The man, which the family identified in a statement to media, was Addison Hartzler of Grande Prairie, Alta.

“This report is hard to accept,” said Hartzler’s father Gregory in the statement. “Our son was arrested without cause, his medical distress was ignored, and he was left face down on the floor for hours after he died.”

“To suggest no one is accountable is unacceptable.”

A report from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said a man called RCMP around 1:40 a.m. on June 3, 2022, saying there were people with weapons and dogs attempting to break into his residence.

Shortly after, police arrived and interacted with the man who was being compliant with officers.

After a search of the home was conducted, officers determined there was no break-in attempt, said the report.

Officers spoke with the man, who appeared to be intoxicated, when he told them he had been using cocaine.

Officers then arrested the man in an effort to prevent him from calling police and doing more drugs, potentially risking his safety, said the report.

The man was taken to the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment and was placed in a holding cell around 2:20 a.m.

The ASIRT report said the man paced in his cell for six hours and was checked on every 15 minutes by officers, as is standard policy.

Around 8:15 a.m., the man used the cell’s sink to balance. A few minutes later, he hit the left side of the front of his head on the cell door frame several times for about 30 seconds, said the report.

He then collapsed on the floor, sliding his face forward along the wall onto his knees, hitting his head on the wall a few more times while twitching. Officers reported that he appeared motionless at approximately 8:27 a.m.

The report said the man was laying on his front from 8:33 a.m. to 10:58 a.m. An officer continued to look into his cell every 15 minutes, but did not bang on the door or call out to him for fear of agitating the man again, said an officer witness statement in the report.

Just after 11 a.m., a cell block supervisor went into the cell to check on and identify the man prior to his release. He was found unresponsive with blood on his face.

Officers administered CPR and applied an AED. At no time did the AED recommend a shock, which likely meant that the man had no heartbeat, said the report. Officers said it was difficult to administer CPR due to rigor and the man’s locked jaw.

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Once EMS arrived, paramedics took over CPR. Due to rigor, they could not insert an airway. The report said paramedics indicated it was obvious the man was dead based on the rigor, suggesting the man had been dead for some time.

At approximately 11:17 a.m., EMS determined the man was dead, and the cause of death was cocaine toxicity. No use of force or other contributing cause of death was noted, said the report.

A medical examiner confirmed that the man died of cocaine toxicity. After watching CCTV footage of the man hitting his head, the examiner determined that he likely endured cardiac arrhythmia/arrest around that time.

The examiner said with earlier medical intervention following the cardiac event, the man’s life may have been saved.

The ASIRT report said there were issues with the officers’ reasons for arresting and detaining the man.

“Their reasons were inconsistent and they appear not to have explored releasing the man to a sober person,” said the report.

The report also highlighted the duty and standard of care owed to prisoners by officers and guards.

“Failure to exercise reasonable care can potentially give rise to criminal offences including criminal negligence causing death or failure to provide the necessaries of life,” said the report.

Police are required to provide reasonable supervision, which includes access to medical attention and assessment as well as regular checks on a person’s well-being so that any potential change is caught in a timely fashion.

When people are brought into police custody, that person should be assessed to determine if they require medical treatment, said the report, adding that EMS was not called until several hours after the man was detained.

The officer performing cell checks acknowledged in the report that he did not check on the man long enough to determine if the man was conscious or not.

ASIRT said there were reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had been committed by the officers based on the reasoning for the man’s detention and the adequacy of supervision provided.

As required by the Police Act, ASIRT referred the matter to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) for an opinion on whether charges should be laid.

On Dec. 5, 2024, ASIRT received the ACPS opinion which recommended no charges.

The ACPS report was not disclosed, but ASIRT wrote that its recommendations included further training for the officers involved on arrest and detention.

“The officer involved should receive clearer training and mandatory requirements should be imposed in relation to checking the rousability of a prisoner that appears to be sleeping,” said the recommendation.

The police watchdog ultimately agreed with the ACPS and did not recommend charges for the officers involved.

“Despite the issue with care of the man received in police cells, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed,” said the report.

Hartzler’s family said they have raised their concerns to ASIRT, ACPS and Alberta Justice about the investigation.

“No investigation or expert opinions were sought to determine if having him medically assessed prior to being lodged in cells could have prevented his death,” said the statement.

The family is urging the province to launch an independent review of the ASIRT investigation and release the decisions that led ACPS to not move forward with charges.

“It is clear these officers failed Addison tremendously, yet they will face no consequences,” said the family. “The fact that no rationale is provided for not charging them highlights the lack of police accountability and the protections afforded to them.”