EDMONTON — The Alberta government is planning to require all police services in the province to use body cameras.
Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said Tuesday that officers often respond to complex calls and make split-second decisions.
That can raise concerns from the public about officers’ actions and whether appropriate force was used.
“Mandating police to wear body-worn cameras is a transformational decision that will ensure all interactions with officers are objective,” Ellis said.
“Police are responding to complex calls that may involve vulnerable Albertans (who) are experiencing mental health crises, suffering from addiction or having difficult moments in their (lives) that (are) clouding their decision-making skills.”
Ellis said the provincial government will be working with the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police on funding, logistics and when the cameras will roll out. He said the association is to develop a mandate over the next few months to “swiftly get body cameras onto the streets as soon as possible.”
He said Alberta would be the first province to mandate body cameras.
“Police will know that taking appropriate action and using the right amount of force is required in every incident, and police officers who use excessive force will face proper discipline thanks to body camera footage,” Ellis said.
“Never before has there been such scrutiny on policing — and rightly so. We are provided with powers of detention and are held to a very high standard,” said Camrose police Chief Dean LaGrange, the association’s vice-president.
“The cameras are a good source of protection, not only for the public, but for the police officers wearing them.”
Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said details of the cost and how the cameras will get to all police services is to be done in short order.
The cameras will help ensure the public gets the entire story, he said.
“If you don’t have this transparency, what happens is you get snapshots of video, whether it’s off a cellphone, whether it’s off of different cameras, that only portray a picture of it,” McFee said. “That takes the toll on everybody, because sometimes the devil in relation to the details is a lot more than a snapshot in time.”
Irfan Sabir, the Alberta NDP justice critic, said he supports increased transparency, but there aren’t many details in the plan.
“There are no timelines, no funding and a lack of clarity regarding how the vast amount of data generated by body-worn cameras will be managed,” Sabir said.
He added that the province’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, has a “massive backlog of cases.”
“If the (United Conservative Party government) was serious about transparency, they would be focused on clearing this backlog so law enforcement is held accountable and Albertans have access to justice.”
Dunia Nur, president of the African Canadian Civic Engagement Council, said he will be watching closely “to ensure that the implementation of police body cameras includes anti-racist policies and practices, and that gaps identified in other jurisdictions have been addressed to create a more just and equitable society.”
Ellis said the mandate does not cover the RCMP, but the federal government has indicated it will be moving toward more body cameras in the future.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2023.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
