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• Police shoot, kill man during a traffic stop after impaired driving complaints

  At 1 PM on March 9, 2017, Edmonton Police received two 911 calls about an erratic driver. One of the callers followed the offending vehicle they had called about-a blue van- off the Whitemud into a cul-de-sac at Hollands Landing where it came to a halt. By 1:30 Constable Ian Wood-a veteran of six years - was dispatched to the neighbourhood and upon arrival pulled his car in front of a blue Pontiac van and demanded the driver stay in his vehicle. The driver- fifty-five-year-old Vitaly Savin- instead exited the van and according to Wood was swaying back and forth and insisted that he was not drunk after Wood stated that he was (a later test found that his blood-alcohol content was three and a half times the legal limit). Wood then grabbed Savins left arm intending to arrest him for impaired driving, but withdrew, stood back, and radioed for other officers to respond when he saw Savin rummaging for something in the van with his right. Wood then ordered Savin to show his hands but instead Savin drew a hunting knife from his car and charged Wood who turned, ran several meters down the icy road, slipped and fell on his back. According to Wood, he shouted at the man to drop his knife, but Savin attempted to stab him. Wood was able to kick Savin away far enough for the constable to draw and shoot his pistol four times, killing the man. Aman Jaggi, the only known witness heard muttering, then shouting and then four shots being fired seconds afterward. He went outside to talk to Wood who told him that he had pulled Savin over, that he came at him with a hunting life, slipped and had to shoot him. Jaggi then filmed other officers who had then arrived who were attempting to resuscitate Savin. A subsequent ASIRT investigation determined Cst. Wood's actions were justified. Savin was a dual citizen of Russia and Canada, and the Russian consulate requested ASIRT investigate whether "Russian racism" was a factor in the shooting. The ASIRT investigation concluded that Savin's background was not a factor in the incident.
• Man shot and injured outside of Kingsway Garden Mall

  Edmonton Police Service members responded to a 911 call concerning a disoriented, bleeding male who was in possession of a knife outside the Kingsway Garden Mall. Five or six police officers surrounded the man, who refused to obey their repeated orders to put down the knife and lie down on the ground. When the man refused to obey these orders and attempted to evade the police, he was pepper-sprayed several times. However, the witness says the man was not deterred by the spray and began charging at police. At this point, the witness said the police used a taser to try stop the man and this also did not work to stop him. It was at this point that one of the officers shot the man and he went down to the ground. The man was treated in hospital. An ASIRT investigation concluded with no criminal charges for the officers involved. The injured man faced several charges resulting from the incident, the outcome of which the Archive team was unable to locate.
• Officers kill woman wielding toy gun

  Around 2pm on January 16, 2010, 911 dispatch received a call from Bernadette Auger (48) over a dispute she was having with her adult sons, requesting police presence, but partway into the call Ms. Auger's common-law partner, George Coward, told the dispatcher that Ms. Auger was drunk, and not to send officers, then hung up the phone. Dispatch called the number back and informed Mr. Coward that police were en route. When the two dispatched officers arrived at the walk-up apartment at 119th Avenue and 84th Street, they went inside, where they encountered Ms. Auger on a stair landing, holding what appeared to be a gun (but was later determined to be a toy Airsoft gun painted black). Ms. Auger pointed the "gun" at the officers and followed them down the stairs and outside as they retreated from the building, but went back inside after the officers crouched behind a vehicle to call for assistance. While inside, Ms. Auger called 911 again, and had a conversation with the operator in which she asked to speak to the police outside, apologized, and indicated she had a gun. She then went back outside, where there were now at least 5 police officers including a Dog Master with a police dog. When she came outside, the Dog Master Detective Kassian determined she was not a serious threat and stood from cover to release the dog. Ms. Auger saw him stand up and raised the "gun" in his direction. While the officers called for Ms. Auger to drop the gun, the police dog "got confused" (per the provincial fatality inquiry) and bit another police officer on the leg. In the Fatality Inquiry, the possible reasons given for the dog's confusion were that Ms. Auger was not moving, which is not the scenario police dogs are trained for, and that Ms. Auger was wearing a white t-shirt against the backdrop of snow, so the dog was unable to focus on her. Immediately after Ms. Auger raised the "gun", Detective Kassian raised his own service weapon and shot her in the head. Another officer stationed across the road, Constable Bondarchuk, shot Ms. Auger in the neck simultaneously. Ms. Auger was killed instantly, with both shots occurring near simultaneously. A third and fourth officer attempted to fire on Ms. Auger at the same time but were interrupted by the police dog attack. In the following investigation, it was determined that Ms. Auger was taking several prescription medications for chronic pain and other issues that, combined with alcohol, produced a sedative effect that likely altered her behaviour. Per the Fatality Inquiry, "Mr. Coward, in his interview with the police, believed that Ms. Auger was attempting to commit suicide by forcing the police to shoot her. This opinion is supported by the fact that she had tried to commit suicide in the past, she was under chronic pain due to injuries suffered in the car accident six years before, she sent him away after calling 911 and after knowing that the police were on the way, she knew the toy gun she carried could be confused for a real firearm, she met the police in the stairwell and pointed the gun at the officers, she pursued them down the stairwell, she pursued the officers out of the building, when she couldnt see them, she called 911 and asked the operator to send the police to her suite, she then pursued the police out of the building again, raising the gun directly at Detective Kassian from a distance of seven meters" (Report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Public Fatality Inquiry, January 30, 2013). ASIRT was directed to investigate the incident and in September 2010 issued a finding that the officers acted lawfully and their actions were justified. The decision of the Public Fatality Inquiry held in 2012 was that "In this case, there was nothing that the police could have done differently when faced with these events. Accordingly, there are no recommendations to make for the prevention of similar deaths." Ms. Auger suffered from serious chronic pain and brain damage from a car accident six years before the incident, which were cited as relevant factors in the course of events. Per ASIRT director Clifton Purvis' comment on their findings, police dogs becoming confused and attacking officers is not uncommon in heated situations (Edmonton Journal, Sept 16, 2010).
• Man shot by police during arrest attempt

  Matt Dumas was shot by Edmonton Police Service officers when trying to flee during an arrest attempt at Westmount Mall. Police attempted to box in Dumas, who was wanted on outstanding warrants related to drug trafficking, after tailing his vehicle to a parking lot at Westmount Mall. Three unmarked vehicles surrounded Dumas' parked car, which also had two female passengers, and turned on their emergency lights. Officers threw two flash-bang grenades towards the vehicle, and instructed the passengers to exit the vehicle with their hands up. Per the ASIRT report, all three individuals held up their hands for several seconds but did not exit the vehicle, before Dumas rammed the police vehicles to the rear and then the front of his car. Officers then threw 2 canisters of CS gas (tear gas) into the vehicle through the passenger window, and again pinned Dumas' car in place with their vehicles. As the officers began to attempt to remove the passengers, Dumas drew a handgun from a bag around his neck. Per the ASIRT report, one officer repeatedly told Dumas "don't do it", and another officer fired an ARWEN baton round (a "less-than-lethal" crowd control device that fires plastic rounds) that struck Dumas. Dumas then pointed his gun at one of the officers, at which point three officers opened fire on him. According to the ASIRT report (2020), the evidence is "unequivocal" that Dumas fired two rounds, which lodged in the dashboard of his vehicle; eyewitness reports suggest the police fired approximately 13 rounds. Dumas was struck multiple times and declared dead on the scene by a paramedic who accompanied the tactical response team. The two women in the car and officers were not injured. The coroner's report found traces of methamphetamine in his system, which the Executive Director of ASIRT, Susan Hughson, stated likely contributed to his "irrational decision" to attempt to flee and fire on the officers (Edmonton Journal, January 27, 2020). The ASIRT investigation concluded that the officers' use of force was justified; a Public Fatality Inquiry has yet to be scheduled as of November 2021. Friends of Dumas indicated that he had suffered increasing problems with drugs following the suicide of his twin brother in 2011. He was described as a "loving man" and one friend who spoke to media indicated he had young children.