By Mindi Soren
On March 18, 2025, a man was arrested by the St. Paul RCMP, approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Edmonton, for intoxication. He was placed in a holding cell at around 9:30 p.m. The following morning, at 10:25 a.m., he was found unresponsive. Despite attempts at life-saving measures, he was pronounced dead shortly after. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the province’s police oversight body, has since launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his custody and care. This incident adds to a growing list of in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings in Alberta, particularly in and around Edmonton and Calgary, raising questions about police practices, oversight, and the recurring nature of these events.
Deaths in Custody and Officer-Involved Shootings in Edmonton and Calgary
Alberta has seen a troubling number of incidents involving police custody deaths and officer-involved shootings, with Edmonton and Calgary often at the center of these cases. While comprehensive, up-to-date statistics are not always readily available, ASIRT’s workload provides a glimpse into the frequency of such events. In 2022 alone, ASIRT investigated multiple high-profile cases, including three officer-involved shootings in Edmonton, Medicine Hat, and Leduc, as well as the death of Addison Hartzler, a 30-year-old who died in a Grande Prairie RCMP holding cell after calling 911 for help. In 2024, ASIRT reported ongoing investigations into at least two custody deaths and several officer-involved shootings across the province, with Edmonton and Calgary frequently cited.
Edmonton, the provincial capital, has had notable incidents that fuel public concern. For instance, in 2021, a 36-year-old man died in a southeast Edmonton jail cell, prompting an ASIRT probe. Similarly, Calgary has faced scrutiny, such as the October 2024 death of a man in custody at the Spyhill Services Centre, which ASIRT is also investigating. Officer-involved shootings have also spiked, with ASIRT clearing RCMP officers in a 2021 fatal shooting of a suspected killer near Edmonton and investigating a December 2024 shooting in Beaver County that left an armed man dead.
Quantitatively, while exact numbers fluctuate, ASIRT’s annual reports suggest that Alberta sees an average of 5–10 in-custody deaths and a similar number of officer-involved shootings each year, with Edmonton and Calgary accounting for a significant portion due to their population density and policing demands. These cities, as major urban centers, handle higher volumes of arrests and encounters, often involving individuals in crisis—factors that contribute to the elevated incidence rates.
Why the Bad Reputation?
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and Calgary Police Service (CPS), alongside the RCMP detachments operating in these regions, have garnered reputations marred by perceptions of excessive force, inadequate care in custody, and a lack of transparency. Several factors contribute to this:
High-Profile Incidents: Cases like the 2019 death of a man in an Edmonton jail cell or the 2022 Hartzler case in Grande Prairie highlight perceived negligence. Families, such as Hartzler’s, have accused police of failing to provide medical attention, a recurring theme that erodes trust.
Systemic Issues: Critics argue that police training and protocols for handling individuals with mental health issues, substance use, or medical emergencies are insufficient. In the St. Paul case, the man’s intoxication raises questions about whether he was adequately monitored—echoing concerns from past incidents where wellness checks failed to prevent fatalities.
Oversight and Accountability: While ASIRT investigates these incidents, its findings often clear officers, as seen in the 2019 Fort McMurray RCMP case where no charges were laid despite a custody death. This pattern fuels skepticism about the effectiveness of oversight, with some viewing ASIRT as too lenient or constrained by its mandate.
Public Perception: Edmonton and Calgary’s police forces operate under intense scrutiny due to their urban settings, where media coverage amplifies incidents. The RCMP, with its broad jurisdiction across rural Alberta, also faces criticism for inconsistent standards, particularly in smaller detachments like St. Paul.
Geographical Significance of Northeast Edmonton and Alberta
St. Paul, located in Alberta’s Lakeland region, sits in a transitional zone between the urban sprawl of Edmonton and the rural expanses of northern Alberta. This area, roughly 200 kilometers northeast of Edmonton, is part of a broader geographical context that influences policing challenges. Alberta itself is Canada’s fourth-largest province by population, with Edmonton (over 1 million residents) and Calgary (1.3 million) as its economic and cultural hubs. Northeast of Edmonton, the landscape shifts to smaller towns and Indigenous communities, interspersed with oil and gas operations and agricultural lands.
This region’s significance lies in its diversity—urban centers juxtaposed with remote areas reliant on RCMP services. St. Paul, with a population of about 5,800, exemplifies the challenges of rural policing: limited resources, vast coverage areas, and a higher prevalence of substance-related issues tied to economic hardship. The proximity to Edmonton also means that urban issues like crime and addiction spill into surrounding areas, straining local detachments.
Why Does It Keep Happening?
The continual occurrence of custody deaths and officer-involved shootings in Alberta, including the northeast, can be traced to several intersecting factors:
Socioeconomic Conditions: Rural areas like St. Paul often grapple with poverty, unemployment, and substance abuse, linked to the boom-and-bust cycles of the oil industry. These conditions increase police interactions with vulnerable populations, heightening the risk of escalation.
Mental Health Crisis: Across Alberta, a lack of mental health resources forces police to act as de facto responders to crises, often with fatal outcomes. The intoxicated man in St. Paul may have needed medical intervention rather than detention—a gap in the system repeatedly exposed by such cases.
Policing Culture: The RCMP and urban forces like EPS and CPS operate under a paramilitary framework that prioritizes control over de-escalation, critics argue. This approach can exacerbate tense encounters, particularly in rural detachments with fewer specialized units.
Geographic Isolation: In places like St. Paul, emergency medical services may be delayed, leaving police as the sole caregivers in holding cells. This isolation amplifies the consequences of inadequate training or oversight.
Historical Context: Alberta’s policing history, rooted in the RCMP’s colonial legacy, has left lingering tensions, especially with Indigenous communities, who are disproportionately involved in these incidents. The St. Paul area, near several First Nations, reflects this dynamic.
Moving Forward
The ASIRT investigation into the St. Paul death will likely scrutinize the RCMP’s custody protocols, but broader questions remain. Why do Edmonton, Calgary, and their surrounding regions continue to see such incidents? The answer lies in a complex web of systemic failures—underfunded social services, over-reliance on police for non-criminal issues, and a culture resistant to reform. Until these root causes are addressed, Alberta’s police forces will struggle to shed their tarnished reputations, and families will continue to demand answers for preventable tragedies. As of March 25, 2025, the St. Paul case serves as yet another call for change in a province where such calls are all too frequent.
Mindi Soren is a freelance journalist and writer for Veritas Expositae
You can reach her at mindi.soren@veritasexpositae.com
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