City police cleared in incident where man hit by stun gun fell and suffered brain injury

Edmonton police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing in a 2016 arrest where a man hit his head on the pavement after being stunned with a Taser.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) began investigating after officers near Jasper Avenue and 90 Street confronted a man believed to be armed with a knife and a machete around 6:45 a.m. on June 20.

According to investigators, the man — with a knife in his hand — ran from police.

After a short chase, officers told the man to stop and drop the knife. The man dropped the knife, but ignored the officers’ other commands and approached one of the officers.

As the man closed the gap between himself and the first officer, another officer standing behind the man fired his conducted energy weapon, commonly known as a Taser. The shock stopped the man, who fell backward, hitting his head on the pavement.

After being arrested, the man was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain injury.

A spokesperson with ASIRT could not say if a machete was recovered at the scene.

ASIRT executive director Susan Hughson reviewed the final investigation and ruled the force used by the officers was reasonable under the circumstances and was no more than what was necessary to prevent an assault on an officer.

The investigation found the man tried to evade police several times and moved toward the officer aggressively, with his fists closed.

The man failed to listen to commands and later admitted he had no memory of what happened and was under the influence of an unknown intoxicant.

Investigators said the man was already facing several charges at the time of the incident.