Alberta’s police watchdog investigating arrest at Calgary Municipal Building

Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the arrest of a man at the Calgary Municipal Building earlier this week.

Officers were called to the building early Tuesday morning for reports of a man brandishing a long-edged weapon and setting fires.

Police have said the man likely got in by smashing the glass at the front of the building, which has been closed to the public since Tuesday.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says in a news release that police tried to talk to the man, but were unsuccessful.

It says several officers fired non-lethal weapons and the man was arrested with the help of a dog team.

It says the man was transported to hospital after “sustaining significant injury” during that arrest.

“ASIRT’s investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the use of force,” said the release.

It said investigators are looking for witnesses to the arrest and the events leading up to it.

ASIRT’s mandate is to independently investigate when members of the public are injured or killed by police in Alberta. It also investigates allegations of police misconduct.

The Calgary Municipal Building is set to reopen on Monday, but a city spokesman said the third floor of the building will remain closed.

The city said earlier this week that several services on the third floor suffered water damage because the sprinkler system was triggered.

The city said the services affected included the planning and development service counter, low-income transit passes, and its cashier services.

The transit passes and cashier services are now available at the Central Library, while the planning and development service counter is at the Whitehorn Multi-Services Centre in the city’s northeast.