Public perception of police ‘damaged’
CALGARY A growing number of questionable incidents involving Calgary police threatens to erode public confidence in its sworn protectors, says a local justice expert.
“It’s death by several tiny cuts,” said Doug King, a justice professor at Mount Royal University and also a former Calgary Police Service research and planning analyst.
With cellphones in hand and a growing suspicion of police, the message from Calgarians is pretty clear, King said — the concept of community policing needs to be updated for 2016, a challenge facing CPS and its public overseer the Calgary police commission.
This weekend, it was announced two officers have been relieved of duty and two more reassigned to desk jobs after a suspect was seriously injured during an arrest.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been called in to investigate the July 30 incident, after dashboard cam footage from a police car was discovered. About 8:45 p.m., one officer attempted to pull over a vehicle in a parking lot in the 6700 block of Macleod Trail. The driver of the suspect vehicle is alleged to have hopped out and fled on foot, prompting the first officer to give chase and several other officers to join in.
Police say the suspect received several serious injuries during the ensuing arrest, which was at least partly captured by the video.
Calgary police union boss Howard Burns said it’s always concerning when allegations are levelled against members, but stressed that as of now they are just that — allegations.
Deputy Chief Paul Cook couldn’t give much detail as to the arrested man’s injuries, except to say they’re significant enough to warrant investigating under the Police Act.
This came days after it was made public that the officer who shot and killed Anthony Heffernan in a hotel room 17 months ago would not face charges because the Crown determined there was not a reasonable likelihood of conviction, despite ASIRT suggesting charges were warranted.
“For a portion of Calgary’s population, their perception of the police has been damaged,” said King.