The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team found reasonable grounds to believe RCMP officers committed an offence in a 2022 arrest that left a Fort McMurray man injured, but the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has opted not to lay charges.

ASIRT released its findings Wednesday in relation to the July 1, 2022, arrest of a man reported missing days earlier. Three Wood Buffalo RCMP officers were designated as subjects of the investigation.

According to ASIRT, officers arrested the man after spotting him walking with a dog. The man, referred to as the affected person (AP), was placed in a police vehicle but removed and searched, which led to an attempted re-arrest. The AP fled and was hit with a conducted energy weapon (CEW), later undergoing surgery for a broken collarbone.

Video and civilian witness evidence contradicted key parts of the officers’ statements, including claims that the man had used his dog to attack. The initial arrest lacked clear legal grounds, ASIRT concluded, raising concerns about unlawful detention and search. “There is no power to arrest a missing adult,” the report noted.

Although ASIRT found reasonable grounds to believe an offence may have occurred, the ACPS declined to prosecute, citing insufficient likelihood of conviction. “While ASIRT found reasonable grounds… the ACPS did not recommend that charges be laid,” Assistant Executive Director Matthew Block wrote.

The man has since died for reasons unrelated to the incident.

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