On Oct. 12, 2023, at approximately 3:40 p.m., Slave Lake RCMP were dispatched to a local business for complaints of a male acting erratically and damaging property.
Upon arrival, the suspect was identified by police and when officers attempted to arrest him, the suspect resisted arrest and an altercation ensued. A Conductive Energy Weapon was deployed.
Once handcuffs were secured, police noted that the suspect had become unresponsive. Life-saving measures were initiated and EMS/fire service was immediately contacted. Upon arrival, EMS/fire service continued providing life-saving measures, but the suspect was later declared deceased by EMS.
The RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it's important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent and defendable. This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the actions of the police during this investigation.
Independent of ASIRT's investigation, the RCMP's internal review process has been implemented to gather a full account of what took place during this incident. RCMP training, policy, police response, and the member's duty status will be subject to review. The RCMP is, of course, fully cooperating with ASIRT. All media inquiries about this incident should now be directed to ASIRT at 780-641-9099.