Review aims to eliminate police use of deadly force
Eliminating situations in which officers need to use deadly force is the goal of a sweeping policy review announced Wednesday by Calgary police.
The inquiry, led by retired Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Neil Wittmann, is intended to be an impartial and independent examination of why, how and when city officers apply lethal force — and put forth steps to defuse life-and-death confrontations before they begin.
“The emphasis, in terms of officer safety and public safety, is to avoid situations where the use of force is necessary,” Wittmann told media Wednesday.
Putting use-of-force practises under a microscope comes in the wake of a string of high-profile incidents that plagued the force last year, raising questions about what steps police brass could take to improve safety — not only for officers but also city residents.
“Policing isn’t something that’s delivered to them — it’s delivered with them,” police Chief Roger Chaffin said. “Calgarians want to feel safe. They want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to keep ourselves safe and keep them safe.”
City police endured a difficult year in 2016. Ten officer-involved shootings were recorded in Calgary last year — more than any other city in Canada. Of those, five were fatal. Calgary also saw a spike in the number of investigations by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) in 2016, with the provincial police watchdog initiating 3o investigations against the service — more than any other police force in Alberta that year.
That’s up from 14 investigations the previous year.
“It has a dramatic effect on an officer to be involved in something like that,” Chaffin said. “It starts to weigh on the service — the pace of work, the type of criminality we’re dealing with, the presence of weapons and dangerous drugs.”
The scope of the review is expected to be far-reaching, with Wittmann expected to review policies, training, equipment and incident command models used by police in determining when to use deadly force.
As well, Wittmann plans to investigate the effect of police culture in contributing to these lifeand-death choices.
“The culture of any organization is the sum of its values and beliefs,” he said. “That could be an important facet of the inquiry as it pertains to the use of force.”
He added the review isn’t intended to assign blame in previous useof-force incidents, but rather look ahead at reducing or even avoiding fatalities in the future.
A fixture in Alberta courtrooms for more than three decades, Wittmann brings with him years of criminal and judicial knowledge.
Serving as a superior court justice for the past 18 years, he was appointed the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench chief justice in 2009.
While a budget of $500,000 has been proposed for the review, Calgary police commission chair Brian Thiessen said the final tally will depend on the scope and length of the inquiry.
He said the commission is pleased to see the review process moving forward, and that they’re regularly updated on ongoing initiatives to improve safety.
By the time the final report lands on his desk, Chaffin hopes the result will be a more effective — and proactive — police presence in the community.
“It’s time for Calgary to have a look at itself and make sure we’re aligned with the expectations of the community,” he said.