Edmonton police seek publication ban to protect identity of officer in fatal shooting

The Edmonton Police Service is asking for a publication ban to protect the identities of the officers involved in the fatal police shooting of Mathios Arkangelo, citing "credible threats" to the life of the subject officer. 

Arkangelo, 28, a member of the South Sudanese community in Edmonton, was shot and killed by police on June 29.

Affidavits sworn with the application include newly released accounts of what police say unfolded that day. 

Documents from the application, in response to a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Arkangelo, were shared with media, including CBC, as part of the notification process requesting the ban. 

In the document, on behalf of John Doe #1 and police Chief Dale McFee, EPS is asking the Court of King's Bench to protect the identities of individual officers in the civil lawsuit and prevent the family of Arkangelo and their lawyer from disclosing the identities of the officers involved. 

The application is also seeking an order allowing the chief to redact information that may identify the officers from the police file. 

Confidential informants

Police outlined the "significant amount of public attention" the shooting has garnered as the subject of extensive reporting, social media posts and numerous protests in and around the city. 

The application says the shooting has been framed as a "cold blooded" killing or "execution," motivated by Arkangelo's race, leading to "a credible threat" to the life of the officer, identified only as John Doe #1. 

According to a confidential informant, police said, the individual or individuals involved with the death threat are actively trying to find out who the officer is. 

Tom Engel, the criminal defence and civil rights lawyer representing Arkangelo's family members, called the application "unprecedented."

 "They're seeking the type of order that would violate the open court, violate public access to the courts, violate the media access to the courts, violate the Charter right of freedom of expression, because in order to freely express opinions, you have to be able to get information," Engel said. 

"They want to block off the public's information."

Police say the interests in protecting the life of the subject officer, "outweighs the public interests of free expression and open and accessible court proceedings in the circumstances."

The application includes affidavits sworn by Insp. Michelle Greening and Sgt. Robert Nayowski.  

Nayowski, with the police's source management and witness protection unit, which is tasked with the registration and protection of police informants and protecting witnesses involved in the criminal justice system, said police received information about a death threat in the fall, and that the informant has previously provided information that was determined to be true. 

The officer was notified of the death threat in September, the affidavit says.

A second confidential informant later provided information that corroborated the original informant's claims, Nayowski said. 

Nayowski says if the officer's name were made public, it would place him at risk of "grievous bodily harm or death."

Newly released accounts of what police say unfolded

Greening's affidavit alleges Arkangelo may have been suicidal and intoxicated on the day of the events. 

A single-vehicle collision in the city's northeast, on Anthony Henday Drive at the 153rd Avenue overpass, preceded the shooting.

Police were called to the collision at about 8:55 p.m., according to Greening's affidavit, which includes a copy of the investigation log entries of officers who responded to the collision. 

According to an investigation log entry, police reported witnesses observed the man get out of the vehicle and state "why didn't I just die" or "why am I alive?"

The report says the witness observed the man take a drink from a bottle of liquor and throw the bottle, before walking west toward a residential area. 

The driver of the vehicle was later identified by police as Arkangelo, who was driving his girlfriend's red Jeep Cherokee, that rolled over on Anthony Henday Drive, before he was located by police on Fraser Way. 

The affidavit includes an Aug. 1 investigation log report made by the officer who shot Arkangelo. It also includes photographs of a knife police say Arkangelo had at the time of the shooting.

The investigation log entry states that the officer located a suspect matching Arkangelo's description in a residential area. He said at first he believed Arkangelo wished to surrender.

"He did not run away, he stood in the middle of the road ready to speak with police. I felt confident that I could safely make the arrest at this point," the log entry states.

The officer said Arkangelo started walking toward him and placed his right hand inside his right pant pocket. He said Arkangelo took out a black folding knife and opened it, exposing the blade. 

The officer said as Arkangelo advanced toward him, he told him to "drop the knife, stop moving towards me, get on the ground, if you continue to walk towards me with the knife you will be shot." 

The officer reported that Arkangelo refused to comply and stated, "I'm a dangerous man, kill me, kill me, come on kill me."

The officer reported Arkangelo was three metres away from him when he aimed his sidearm at Arkangelo's chest and fired two rounds, striking him both times in the chest. 

He fired at least one more round at Arkangelo's head but missed, the officer reported, at which point Arkangelo stopped and began to stumble before collapsing to the ground. 

Engel alleges the officer's account is a "red herring" and isn't accurate.

"If you compare what the shooter says in his statement with the video, well, it's very inaccurate in a number of ways. But I won't get into that because I think, all the police are trying to do is have their cake and eat it too," Engel said.

"They want the shooter statement, as flawed as it is, to be out there in the public, but they want to keep the shooter's name secret. They shouldn't be able to have it both ways."

ASIRT, Alberta's police oversight agency, is currently investigating the shooting. 

The statement of claim filed Aug. 23 by Arkangelo's family alleges the shooting death was "unnecessary, unreasonable and without lawful justification." The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages.

None of the claims has been tested in court.