Edmonton cruisers in chain-reaction crash will cost $29,000 to repair

A crash involving six Edmonton police cruisers that were in Calgary to pay respect to a slain officer will cost the division an estimated $29,000 in damages.

EPS spokeswoman Carolin Maran said the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) vehicles were in a convoy headed to Calgary police headquarters around 11 a.m. on Jan. 9 when a civilian vehicle stopped suddenly causing a chain reaction as the half-dozen police cruisers crashed on Mcknight Boulevard near 47 Street NE.

“The two civilian vehicles ahead of the lead convoy vehicle reportedly stopped suddenly to avoid hitting this vehicle,” said Maran in an email. “The lead EPS vehicle then also reportedly stopped suddenly to prevent hitting the civilian vehicle ahead of it, resulting in a chain reaction with the five vehicles behind.”

Maran said preventive manoeuvres were taken by officers driving their vehicles in an attempt to avoid the crash and some of the cruisers ended up driving onto the shoulder of the road and into concrete barriers. Road conditions are not believed to be a factor, nor is speed.

The crash resulted in an estimated $40,000 total damages to the police cruisers, however $11,000 is attributed to one vehicle that will not be fixed, Maran said.

The estimate of final costs is $29,000.

“The EPS chose not to repair the vehicle as it was nearing the end of its life cycle, and our tactics training area was waiting for a vehicle to leave the fleet so it could be used for training,” said EPS spokeswoman Cheryl Voordenhout.

The collision took place before a procession for Sgt. Andrew Harnett, a Calgary officer killed in the line of duty on New Year's Eve.

The procession began as two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets from 410 Squadron flew over police headquarters at Westwinds in northeast Calgary just after 3:30 p.m. A regimental funeral took place earlier.

According to the official Edmonton police Twitter account, many members of EPS brass, including Chief Dale Mcfee, attended the regimental funeral.

Maran said the cruisers involved in the crash were not part of the official procession. The EPS authorized approximately 100 officers to travel to Calgary, with one officer attending the funeral in a ceremonial role, Maran said.

“The rest were in their vehicles at CPS headquarters watching the ceremony on big screens in the parking lot and later offered a salute to Sgt. Harnett.

Some travelled in EPS vehicles and others travelled in their own personal vehicles,” said Maran.

She noted normal practice is to send officers in a bus, however they took separate vehicles due to COVID -19 restrictions.