Constable reprimanded over fatal 2012 crash
An Edmonton police constable has received a penalty for discreditable conduct five years and one day after being involved in a fatal high-speed collision that left an 84-year-old woman dead.
Const. Christopher Luimes was required to participate in a video that will become part of mandatory police training and received a reprimand at a police disciplinary hearing Thursday.
“There will be some who are not satisfied with this approach, who will want the constable to suffer personally more than he already has,” said presenting officer Geoff Crowe.
Luimes, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, suffered serious injuries to his leg and spine.
He was responding to a nonemergency call for surveillance while driving an unmarked police vehicle on March 8, 2012. While pursuing his target, Luimes was driving northbound on 75 Street at about 120 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. He was not using his lights or sirens.
Anne Cecilia Walden was driving southbound on 75 Street when she made a left turn onto 76 Avenue across Luimes’ path.
The two vehicles collided. Walden was pronounced dead in hospital.
Crowe acknowledged challenges in finding appropriate sanctions for Luimes, who was acquitted of dangerous driving causing death in May 2015.
“On the one hand, the driving behaviour of the member was not safe nor reasonable,” said Crowe. On the other, he “was found not guilty.”
Crowe did not seek a financial penalty, saying it would be “unsatisfying and distasteful to place a monetary amount on Walden’s death.”
While most officers in the force are safe drivers, some place undue importance on their tasks and drive with unnecessary speed, said Crowe.
Those are the members he hopes to reach with the video.
“Use this one tragedy to avoid all others,” Crowe said.
A draft of the video, recounting the collision and its consequences, was played at the hearing.
“She didn’t deserve this,” Luimes says in the video. “Maybe it should have been me.” The video describes officers finding a piece of bone from his leg at the scene.
Mike Danyluik, Luimes’ legal counsel, said the officer showed remorse in the video and in private conversations.
“He hasn’t hidden from what happened,” Danyluik said.
Presiding officer Thomas Grue accepted the joint penalty submission of a reprimand and Luimes’ required participation in the video.