No charges to be laid after man's death in Calgary police custody, oversight agency finds

No charges will be laid after a man died in Calgary Police Service custody following his arrest almost two years ago.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the province's police oversight agency, released its report into the incident on Monday. It concluded that police officers committed no offences and no force was used against the man. 

Sonny Crazy Bull died in police custody after he was arrested at the Marlborough LRT station on Oct. 23, 2020. Police were called to the station for reports of a man with a gun.

Crazy Bull, a Blackfoot member of the Blood Tribe, was found to have an airsoft pistol in his possession. However, he ended up being charged with probation breach-related offences. 

Crazy Bull was "very co-operative" throughout the arrest and showed no signs of being in medical distress at the time, according to ASIRT. 

"While the [man's] death was untimely and tragic, there are no reasonable grounds, nor reasonable suspicion, to believe that any officers committed an offence," the report said.

ASIRT said that when the suspect was taken to a holding cell, video surveillance showed him ingesting something he was holding in his hand.

About three minutes later, Crazy Bull appeared motionless on camera. Police conducted two welfare checks on Crazy Bull in approximately the next hour and a half. Upon noticing the man had not moved since the first welfare check, a staff member tried to "verbally rouse" Crazy Bull, the report said. When he didn't respond, police called for medical assistance.

Despite the attempts from staff at the arrest processing facility and later by EMS, Crazy Bull was declared dead at about 8:42 that night.

Crazy Bull's family could not be immediately reached for comment.

AHS investigation finds no misconduct

An autopsy ruled the death was caused by an overdose of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine.

While no officers will be charged, ASIRT said a medic with CPS's arrest processing section raised concerns about how EMS responded to Crazy Bull's medical condition in the holding cell. 

"He was of the opinion that they did not provide the level of treatment one would expect given how the [man] was presenting," the report stated. 

ASIRT forwarded this information to Alberta Health Services (AHS) to determine if there should be a separate investigation.

EMS was notified earlier this year about the alleged conduct of two paramedics who responded to the incident, AHS said in an emailed statement to CBC News.

AHS "immediately conducted a full review and investigation into this call," the statement read. 

The agency said it found no evidence of professional misconduct nor improper patient treatment. Its investigation is closed.

ASIRT investigates events where serious injury or death may have been caused by police, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct, such as sexual assault and obstruction of justice.