Items

• Woman sexually assaulted by constable while he was on duty

  A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by EPS officer Hunter Robinz while in uniform and on duty. He was charged for breach of trust in allegedly attempting to communicate with women crime victims and seeking sexual relationships with them. There was a second breach of trust related to his using Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and Edmonton Police Reporting and Occurrence System (EPROS) databases between 2018 and 2019 for reasons unrelated to police investigations. ASIRT charged Const. Robinz with sexual assault, unauthorized use of computer database and two separate counts of breach of trust.
• Victim accuses officer of negligent operation of motor vehicle that caused loss of child and left disabled another child

  On June 2, 2001 Constable Brander crashed broadside into the victim’s car as it turned left across police car’s path. As a result of the crash, Carlos Ramirez’s grandson Giovanni was killed, his grandson Jonathon was seriously injured, and his daughter Gloria were injured. Constable Brander and his partner Jean Guy were assigned general police duties including enforcement of traffic laws. They were on the way to confirm a service address for arrest warrant on an individual section of Edmonton. At 127th street they have decided to try and catch and stop two racing vehicles. Brander was driving. Officer accelerated as he wanted to catch up to speeding vehicles to get into a position to get their license numbers and stop them. He estimated his speed at 110 km/hr and no more that 120 km/hr. constable Brander was found not guilty on all accounts.
• Victim files complaint that police assaulted and removed him from home

  The victim, 50-years old man born with cerebral palsy has been tasered and incarcerated for not complying with terms of lease agreement and outstanding warrants (confirmed my Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC)). Based on authority of “Order of Possession” nine officers entered residence of the victim. While in search area victim was not co-operative and physically resisted officers who wanted to conduct a strip search. One of officers held victim while another officer tasered (at least three times) him. Then victim was detained. The victim appeals written decision of A/Chief of Police EPS dated September 20, 2005. This decision dismissed all allegations made by the victim in his written complaint of August 19, 2003, where he alleges misconduct by nine EPS officers: unlawfully evicting victim from his residence and string searching; tasering visitor at the residence of victim; unlawfully assaulting victim including assault with a weapon and not providing access to medical services when requested and required. Decision: Board affirmed decision of the Chief of Police to dismiss the allegations against nine officers.
• Person in custody experiences physical violence from police.

  On December 28, 2013 victim attended Edmonton Oilers hockey game at Recall Place and later was arrested and detained by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). The victim submitted Statement of claim that he was not informed of reasons for his arrest and detention at Rexall Place by any of respondents along with unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority, force, insubordination, and neglect of duty. Further, it is alleged that victim was not immediately advised of his Charter rights upon arrival at Downtown Division, and that he wasn’t provided opportunity to speak to counsel until approximately three hours after his arrest. The timing of completion of the investigation was such that it was completed and forwarded to counsel for review before the letter from the appellant’s counsel dated August 6, 2015 was received by PSB. The suggested importance of the transcript was not flagged by appellant’s counsel and a copy was not provided to PSB or the Chief. There is no evidence on the record of lack of transparency or that the or the Chief deliberately ignored information in the trial transcript that was decisive of an important issue. The Board concluded that the investigation conducted by the Chief was reasonable and not tainted or compromised.
• Victim suffers injuries during police arrest.

  The victim alleges that on June 29, 2011, Constable Bradley Pearce and Constable Derek McIntyre caused bodily harm while arresting him for violating his parole. Tam Nguyen, a case worker at Independence Apartments halfway house testified he saw officers dragging victim up the stairs and Const. Pearce strike the parolee in the head with an open hand. The victim received three stitches to his head and suffered two black eyes and a swollen cheek. Because initial prosecutor proceeded summarily rather than by indictment in provincial docket court, the judge declared a mistrial.
• Woman receives inappropriate, sexually explicit text messages from an officer who had previously arrested her

  In 2011, Officer Butchike arrested a woman in relation to a fraud investigation. Between late July and September 18th of that year, he was accused of sending sexually explicit and inappropriate text messages to the woman that were unrelated to his investigation. A complaint was launched by the woman in late 2011, and Butchike was charged with insubordination as well as discreditable conduct, with a deceit charge later added for his handling of the resulting EPS Professional Standards Investigation. Butchike quit his job with EPS in May 2014 just minutes before his disciplinary hearing was due to begin.
• Victim who was cooperating suffers serious injuries when officer releases police dog to attack

  The victim alleges that in 2009, Constable Dzioba pulled him over for a missing licence plate. The Statement of Claim states that the victim cooperated by getting out of the car, placing his keys on the ground, putting his hands behind his head and approaching the officer to surrender. Despite this, the victim claims that Dzioba deployed his police dog without any warning or prior instruction to the victim. The victim suffered extensive injuries as the dog bit him for several minutes, resulting in permanent injuries and muscle damage. In 2012, Dzioba was due to attend a disciplinary hearing for unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and deceit with relation to this event. He turned in his badge and resigned the day before the hearing was meant to occur.
• Indigenous youth shot and killed by officer

  On February 5th, 2011, Constable Redlick and several other officers were dispatched to a robbery call. At the scene, there was a confrontation between officers and a 17 year old Indigenous boy. Officers claim that the teen carried a knife and a baseball bat, and charged toward Redlick, yelling "you're going to have to shoot me". No physical contact or altercation had yet been made with the victim when Redlick shot him three times from what he judged to be around three meters away. He died soon after on the operating table. Family and friends on the Cold Lake First Nation say that he was a troubled boy and struggled with alcohol addiction but didn't deserve to die. A fatality inquiry report released in August 2014 ruled that Redlick's actions were justified because the officers at the scene were faced with lethal force. An investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team also found Redlick's actions justified in December of 2011. The teen's family sued police, alleging that Redlick's testimony contained contradictions and fabrications. The teen's father hired a lawyer that asserted an Indigenous investigator should have been hired to look into the case.
• Youth victim cooperates with arrest, officer tases him despite cooperation

  On April 3, 2004, a 21 year old man was followed by police in a car chase through North Edmonton. He was stopped with spike belts and got out of the car at a run. Soon he surrendered and dropped on his stomach to the ground. He was approached by six officers, including Constable Wasylyshen, who kicked him in the head. A knee was placed on his back holding him down, bloodying his face. He was then tasered multiple times by several officers.While attempting to handcuff him, Wasylyshen broke and injured fingers on the victim's hand. At a cross-examination after the event, the court found Wasylyshen to have displayed a disturbing arrogance and an unwillingness to confront his mistakes. In a 2012 disciplinary hearing, Wasylyshen was found guilty of two counts of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and insubordination.
• Victim endures extensive delay of justice and lingering mental anguish when officer fails to lay charges against sexual violence perpetrator as directed

  A series of delays and poor communication with regards to handling sexual assault charges caused considerable distress to a victim who had been sexually abused by both her father and brother. On December 30, 2009, Officer Dahl completed an arrest report detailing the arrest of a man for multiple crimes against his sister, including sexual assault. He also forwarded information to the Delta Police Department regarding laying charges against the victim's father for historic sexual assaults that had previously been dismissed with no charges. In early 2010, the Delta Police Department returned the file to Dahl, stating that Crown approval was needed before they could proceed. The documents were forwarded to the Edmonton Crown Prosecutor's office in May of 2010. On November 2, 2011, Officer Dahl was forwarded a letter from the Crown recommending charges of sexual interference and sexual assault against the victim's father. The letter included instructions for Dahl to notify the Crown when the charges were laid and initial court date. In 2013 Dahl appeared at the Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor's office without appointment, announcing that he had never laid the charges as instructed. The victim had phoned him to inquire and he realized his mistake. Dahl was then subject to an EPS investigation on allegations of Neglect of Duty. Investigators contacted the victim who expressed frustration with the process for taking so long and preventing her from moving on with her life due to the trial hanging over her. She was also angered by the fact that her father had developed severe dementia and would be unlikely to be held accountable for his actions due to the delays. During a disciplinary hearing in 2015, the allegations were proven to be true. He was given an 80 hour suspension without pay.
• Woman sexually assaulted by off-duty EPS officer

  An acquaintance of EPS officer Samuel Sanson was allegedly sexually assaulted by him while he was off-duty in the early afternoon of January 20th, 2021. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate and made the determination that Sanson should be charged for the assault.
• Victim has his home broken into by police before they interrogate, beat and tase him

  Marty and Cynthia Lacerte had a number of officers forcefully enter their home on or around October 27, 2006. Upon doing so, their door was damaged, and both were interrogated by the officers without being informed of their Charter rights. When Marty asked about whether the officers had a warrant, one officer allegedly responded, falsely, that they didn't need one, after which Marty was then thrown to the ground. Allegedly, one officer stood on his head as others began kicking him and he was tased twice. After this ordeal, he was further detained.
• Asian man alleges officers were discriminatory in arresting him after calling for help

  Yun Feng Chu had delivered a letter of eviction to a tenant at a property owned by his son, and made arrangements with the tenant to vacate on September 12th, 2001. On the day of September 12th, the tenant asked Chu for one more day to vacate the premises, to which he agreed. He arrived at the suite the next day to find its door open and was met by a young man instead of the tenant. The man told Chu to leave a few times and attempted to escort him off the property, ultimately shoving him and causing Chu to fall. Chu called for help and was first assisted by paramedics before police arrived. Chu does not speak fluent English and when he attempted to explain to officers that he was hit, they allegedly replied, "nobody hit you". When he responded that this was "not fair", they forcefully handcuffed him. He asked them to remove the cuffs five times to which they did not respond; when he asked for their names, only one of two officers (Brown) disclosed their names.
• Man in mental health crisis tasered and arrested by police

  On February 7th, 2017, after an argument with his father, an individual stated he would take his own life and left the residence with a hunting knife. Officers J. Blezy and D. McFarland were dispatched to his location and found the individual searching his vehicle, but upon being approach stated he had no knife. He was tased and arrested before being taken to a hospital. Months later on August 5th, 2017, the individual was arrested again by officers Strickland, Wagner, and Li, and allegedly assaulted by Wagner. During a verbal altercation at the police station with Strickland, he was allegedly told that he should kill himself as it'd save the police from further paperwork.
• Unhoused Indigenous individuals rounded up by EPS and transported to other side of city in "sweatbox" incident

  On or around May 20th, 2005, a group of 9 unhoused Indigenous peoples--6 men and 3 women--were picked up by EPS officers Hannas, Blackburn and Sauter on Whyte Avenue and locked in a police van. No one was told why they were being detained. The van lacked seatbelts and there was not enough room for all individuals to sit on the bench, forcing some to sit on the floor. The van was also hot and crowded, but officers refused to roll down windows or turn on air conditioning. They also denied bathroom requests from the individuals, resulting in one woman urinating on the floor of the vehicle. After being driven around for about 90 minutes with frequent sudden stops and forceful turns that made them fall into each other, they were later let out of the van in the area of 127 Avenue and 82 Street on the other side of the city.
• Two men assaulted while handcuffed during arrest; officer charged and convicted

  In the early morning of December 15, 2008, Lauchlin Torry and Jean-Marc Viau were pulled over by Constable Haoyin Zheng during a vehicle stop near 145 Street and 104 Avenue. Torry and Viau were ordered out of the truck, which was later found to have been stolen. Police searched the men and found a piece of a coat hanger in Torry’s back pocket. While being handcuffed and put into the back of the police car, Torry and Viau report that they were beaten by Zheng. Torry testified in court that Zheng yelled at him, called him a “druggie”, and punched him on the cheek. During the trial, Constable Brad Stiksma testified that he heard Torry yell for help and noticed a fresh red scrape on his chin. Earlier in the trial, Viau testified that he was sitting handcuffed in the back of the police cruiser when Zheng leaned in, struck him with a flashlight three times, and repeatedly punched him in the head. After reporting pain in his ribs, Viau was taken to the hospital following the arrest. Viau was treated for bruising and was later released from the hospital. Zheng was charged with two counts of assault and one count of assault with a weapon in the alleged beating of Lauchlin Torry and Jean-Marc Viau. The judge ruled that Zheng used excessive force against Viau and he was found guilty of assault, receiving a conditional discharge, 12 months probation, and restriction to administrative duties. Zheng would later be convicted of another assault charge in an on-duty incident from 2010 and would resign from the Edmonton Police Service.
• Victim hit repeatedly by officer in on-duty assault; officer resigns after conviction

  Officer Haoyin Zheng was charged with and convicted of assault after a 2010 incident in which he repeatedly physically assaulted an intoxicated man in a condo hallway. Sean Andrew Spicer had returned to his condo building drunk and had broken a glass door, trying to enter the residence after losing his keys. Officers were called to the scene, and while arresting him, Spicer reported that Zheng delivered several head stuns, knocked him to the ground, and hit him with additional stuns to the body while he was down. This use of force resulted in injuries to his shoulders, ribs, back and head. Spicer’s mother, Bonnie, says that her son no longer trusts the police. “We don’t want people like this as police officers” Zheng was found guilty of assaulting Spicer in a provincial court and resigned shortly after his conviction. Zheng has previously been convicted of assault in violent on-duty interactions, which Crown prosecutor Matt Dalidowicz argues is a “pattern of behaviour”. Zheng was found guilty of two counts of assault in November 2011. Earlier that year, Zheng was found guilty of an unrelated assault that occurred while he was making an arrest. He received a conditional discharge, 12 months probation, and was restricted to administrative duties in that conviction, stemming from a December 2008 case.
• Man receives permanent facial injuriers requiring surgery in assault by EPS officers

  Anthony Maskell was beaten and left with permanent facial injuries by Constables Nadine Comeau and Darin Goldenberg during a traffic stop in March of 2010. “This is a case of egregious police conduct — an unwarranted, grave assault causing serious permanent injuries,” Provincial court Judge Donna Groves said in a 2011 written ruling. “This is one of those ‘clearest of cases’ that requires the court to communicate unequivocally that such conduct will not be tolerated”. The officers pulled over Maskell because a check on his license plate revealed he was suspended from driving. Officers removed Maskell from the car and threw him to the ground, placing him in the prone position. Maskell said that he was aggressively handcuffed and that the handcuffs were too tight. Officer Weins, who arrived on the scene with his partner after Maskell was handcuffed, testified that Maskell was pushed against the side of the car to hold him up. Weins stated that Maskell was having difficulty holding himself up and his legs were unsteady. Maskell states that he was thrown like a “rag doll” and that his face was pushed against the car by officers Comeau and Goldenberg. He reported having difficulty remaining conscious and having difficulty remembering much of what happened during the encounter with police. The officers said that Maskell exhibited signs of impairment; however, Maskell explained that the slurred speech and any possible stumbling or disorientation on his part were symptoms of a head injury. Judge Grove noticed several inconsistencies between the testimony of Goldenberg and Comeau in their recounting of the events. The judge deemed Maskell’s testimony of events credible. Maskell’s family took him to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where he underwent a CT scan and it was determined that Maskell had suffered severe facial trauma. Maskell was diagnosed with multiple facial bone fractures predominantly on the right side of his face. Maskell’s orbital bone was broken, as well as his nose. He had a deviated septum, and the tissues in his cheek were separated from the bone. Surgery was required to repair the damage to the right zygoma, right maxilla, right orbital floor, and a resuspension of the right cheek tissue. During surgery, two titanium plates were permanently inserted in the orbital/cheek area.
• Victim experiencing panic attack and suicidal thoughts encouraged by officer to "go ahead" and kill himself

  Tyler Lychak was experiencing a panic attack and thoughts of suicide when he was assaulted by Edmonton Police Officer Binoy Prabhu on November 3, 2017. The incident began when Lychek went to the west Edmonton Police Station to report concerns about someone who may have been selling drugs to minors outside of a nearby store. Upon exiting the police station, Lychak’s foot hit one of the sliding doors and dislodged it, causing a loud noise (which officer Derek Cranna testified to in a disciplinary hearing). Officer Prabhu and another officer followed Lychak to the parking lot where there was an argument. Lychak was arrested for mischief, placed in handcuffs, and escorted back into the police station. Lychak was brought into a holding cell and was searched by the officers. Officer Prabhu found a pressurized spray can of Sabre ‘Dog and Coyote Attack Deterrent’ in Lychak’s pocket and Lychak was informed that he was under arrest for possession of a weapon. Lychak stated that he was frightened of Officer Prabhu and he began hyperventilating. While escorting Lychak to the phone room, Prabhu grabbed Lychak and pulled him with enough force that Lychak fell to the ground. Lychak told investigating officers that he hit his head on the wall and suffered bruising to his hip and back along with soreness to his neck and shoulder. Prabhu’s use of force was captured on police station closed-circuit cameras. Lychak used the phone to call 911, stating that he was having a panic attack and the police were not helping him. After Lychak made the phone call, Prabhu returned him to the holding cell. Lychak told the officer he was going to try to kill himself and that he had attempted suicide in the past. Prabhu responded with “go ahead”. In the disciplinary hearing that followed this incident, Prabhu admitted to the above statement and the use of excessive force. "I basically relive it every day," Lychak told CBC News. "It goes through my head every day and it's really hard to block it out…I want to do this so that in the future, people with mental disabilities or mental problems can get treated better by the police. I believe that training is necessary to save lives." In 2015, Prabu was charged with assaulting his wife. The charge was withdrawn in 2016 when Prabhu admitted that he had caused his wife to fear personal injury. Prabhu entered a one-year peace bond as a result. Prabhu received a criminal charge led to two separate findings of discreditable conduct. The first finding occurred two weeks after Prabhu's encounter with Lychak. He was given a 30-hour suspension without pay and ordered to seek counseling. Prabhu went on a six-month medical leave in December 2017 and sought psychological help. He also admitted to a neglect of duty misconduct charge that dated back to October 2017.
• Victim assaulted, arrested, and searched after jaywalking; EPS officers investigated and sued in civil court

  Deron Kuski, a lawyer from Regina, was arrested on August 4, 2002, by Edmonton Police Service officers Jason Forbes and Carlos Cardoso after jaywalking. Kuski and two companions crossed a street with no visible traffic. After reaching the other side of the street, officers Forbes and Cardoso approached Kuski and his companions. Forbes asked Kuski for identification, which Kuski did not provide. Forbes asked Kuski if he could search him, to which Kuski replied “no, what for”. Without warning, Forbes placed Kuski in handcuffs and kneed him on the top of the knee, causing Kuski’s leg to buckle. Forbes proceeded to search Kuski and remove his identification and personal belongings from Kuski’s pockets. Kuski did not resist while being handcuffed but was shocked with the amount of aggression that the officers used against him. “Whenever I would hear about a complaint like this against a police officer or someone in authority, you hold some kind of skepticism toward it” Kuski said in a CBC article (linked below). “You think the guy must have done something, he must have lipped them off or got physical with them or something. And the fact this incident was not like that, yet they maintain they were within their rights of doing what they did, is so disturbing to me”. Forbes told Kuski that he would be taken to the police station. Kuski was read his rights, but he asserts that he was not told what he was being arrested for. Kuski was placed in a police cruiser and detained in a cell at the Old Strathcona Police station for approximately one hour before being released around 2:30 am. Kuski was locked out of the police station while only wearing a golf shirt and pants in 0 °C. After approximately 10 minutes outside of the station, Kuski knocked on the doors and asked to wait inside the station until his taxi arrived. The police officer answering the door refused Kuski re-entry, despite his complains about the cold. The taxi still had not shown up after an hour waiting outside, so Kuski obtained a ride from a pizza delivery driver back to his hotel. Kuski and his lawyer state the police were “reckless and malicious” by forcing the victim to wait outside in the cold in an unfamiliar city, without arranging appropriate transportation. Kuski left the station with citations for jaywalking and refusing to identify oneself to a police officer. Kuski filed a complaint against the officers, which was dismissed after 14 months. Kuski appealed the discission and filed a civil suit against Forbes and Cardoso.
• Assault within family by police officer

  An individual was allegedly assaulted by the officer in a family-related incident in July 2007.
• Two sleeping men tasered by police after forced entry into hotel room

  At approximately 02:00 hours on November 27, 2003, three men were sleeping in a room at the Cromdale hotel. Without the occupants' consent their room was entered by four police officers who were searching for an armed suspect in a robbery. Two of the men who were sleeping were subjected to a taser on stun mode. The police stated it was used to wake them up. The three men were detained and eventually released without charges. The police officer did not have sufficient ground to detain or arrest any of the men.
• 22-year-old on crutches assaulted by off duty police officer

  On December 18th, 2005 early in the morning, the victim was hailing a cab with his crutch. He had recently undergone knee surgery. Officer Wasylyshen and some colleagues were off-duty and drinking, and had just gotten out of a cab. Wasylyshen noticed the individual and started to verbally attack him (calling him a "cripple"). In return the victim yelled back. Wasylyshen approached the victim and struck him with a closed fist in the left ear. Wasylyshen's friends held him back after this. The victim then called two friends, who arrived shortly after. The group of three crossed the street. Wasylyshen followed them, there was a violent exchange between Wasylyshen and the victim's two friends, in which the friends pinned the police officer to the ground. At this point two loss prevention officers from a 7-11 decided to get involved. While they were separating the group, Wasylyshen uttered threats to the officers and struck one of them.
• Victim assaulted while detained and then released in river valley

  The victim, at the time unhoused and dealing with substance use issues, was asked to leave a 7-11 store. Police intervened while he was sleeping in the store, made physical contact to wake him up and asked him to leave. He returned to the store and was asked to leave again as he would be charged with public intoxication and trespass. The victim and the police travelled about three blocks before the incident continued. The victim was threatened with arrest for not identifying himself. While being handcuffed, Cst. O'Mara took the victim to the ground, punching him twice in the head, once while already handcuffed. Witnesses decribed the force as being excessive, recalling that the victim's head hit the pavement hard, causing a cut and substantial bleeding, with blood left on the sidewalk. The police then loaded the victim in the car and drove him south of the river to a different neighbourhood before releasing him. The police disabled the computer system that controlled GPS tracking before driving the victim, and only filed a report of a "Street Check".
• Youth unlawfully searched during traffic stop, then strip searched at police station.

  A 15 year old youth was driving their mother's car in North-East Edmonton on the 28th of December, 2014. Police initiated a traffic stop that a judge ruled was arbitrary. Their claim after the fact was that they could smell raw marijuana from the car and that there appeared to be a man driving when it was licensed to a woman. The police initiated an arrest of the youth, failed to read them their rights, and asked questions inviting the youth to incriminate themself. After unlawfully collecting evidence from a duffel bag in the car, the police placed the youth under arrest for "drug trafficking" and at this point read them their rights. Police then transported the youth back to the police station where they were strip searched, with the youth being completely exposed briefly, which is against the guidelines. The ruling states that "there was a pattern of Charter breaches that displayed a relentless search for evidence, on a hunch, with a total deliberate or reckless disregard for the Charter rights of the Young Person".