Items
Tag
youth
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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. -
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".